Worldwide, the number of children under the age of 18 who have lost one or both parents to AIDS is estimated to be 15million, and it is expected to rise to more than 18 million by 2010 (UNAIDS, UNICEF & USAID, 2004). Many more children live with one or more chronically ill parent or have been otherwise made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa has been hit harder by HIV and AIDS than any other region in the world. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 63% of the world’s people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHA) and 80% of world’s children orphaned by AIDS (UNAIDS, 2006a).

In the past decade, there have been a multitude of programs implemented in Africa to address the growing AIDS epidemic and assist the millions of OVC left in the wake of the epidemic. Efforts to mitigate the effects of AIDS have been especially strong in a number of African countries, and in some cases the overall prevalence rates are declining. While there has been a strong response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic and the growing number of OVC, there is little information available about which program approaches are most effective. There is urgent need to assess and document the impact of programs for OVC to guide further program planning and improve current programs. MEASURE Evaluation is conducting targeted evaluations of four OVC programs in four unique settings in East Africa — two in Kenya and two in Tanzania. IAP-Thika, supported by Pathfinder International, was selected as a priority program for evaluation