• Who makes OVC public policy?

• How should OVC public policies be made?

  • Step 1: Situational Analysis
  • Step 2: Identifying possible options
  • Step 3: Setting Your OVC Policy Framework
  • Step 4: Narrowing Down your Policy Options
  • Step 5: Final Check
  • Step 6: Planning Implementation

Who makes OVC public policy?

To define policy for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), it will be necessary to involve both public and private stakeholders from a wide array of sectors. The Government ministries most likely to have the mandate for handling OVC issues are the Ministry in charge of social affairs, the Ministry in charge of community services, or the Ministry in charge of women and families. The Ministries of Health, Education, Labor, Youth and Justice may also have some relevant information about OVC. Other entities should have an active role depending on the special circumstances of the country –the National Commission on HIV/AIDS in countries with large numbers of OVC resulting from the AIDS epidemic, the Ministry of War Victims or Reconciliation in post-conflict countries, etc. If child labor is one of your concerns, ILO, through its International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), may prove to be a valuable partner.

NGOs, faith-based organizations (FBOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) are an important source of support, have a good grasp of the issues facing these groups, and will be responsible for delivering the services that result from the policy-making process. Therefore, they must be involved throughout the policy-making process.

For a more detailed analysis of partners to involve see the section on Working with Partners.