HIV and Social Protection Assessment Tool

Organization(s): UNAIDS
Year: 2017
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The HIV and social protection assessment tool is used for a quick scan of existing social protection programmes and their sensitivity (or lack of) to the HIV response in a given country and location. Additional follow-up and research that engages the different critical actors, including HIV programme managers, social protection administrators, beneficiaries and civil society representatives, may be necessary in some contexts. The assessment provides countries and communities with tailored analysis on HIV and social protection. The assessment seeks to gather information on:

  • The social protection schemes that exist in different countries and locations, and their
    purpose, eligibility criteria, coverage and HIV sensitivity.
  • Whether people living with HIV, adolescent girls and young women at high risk of
    HIV infection, key populations and others eligible to benefit from social protection
    benefits are accessing existing social protection schemes and, if not, the key barriers
    people face in accessing social protection benefits.
  • What can be done to eliminate the barriers and include these populations in existing
    social protection programmes.

Information gathered using the assessment tool is intended to support decision-making in strengthening the HIV sensitivity of social protection schemes to better reach people living with HIV, adolescent girls and young women, key populations and others, and inform the development of national HIV-sensitive social protection portals (for example, electronic databases of existing HIV-sensitive social protection such as http://socialprotection.in/), revision of national AIDS strategies, HIV investment cases, concept notes for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and other social welfare and poverty alleviation programmes. The information could also be used to catalyse cross-sector co-programming and co-financing of HIV and social protection programmes.

This document contains step-by-step guidance on how to conduct an HIV and social protection assessment, namely: preparing to conduct the assessment, including securing government ownership, leadership and commitment to conduct the assessment, and mobilizing the appropriate cadre of actors and resources; conducting the assessment, including the required training on HIV and social protection and the data collection tool and conducting appropriate data analysis, report writing, validation of findings and follow-up.

In addition, this document has annexes that contain the data collection forms and analysis format, assessment report template, a list of potential sources of data, examples of social protection, a draft agenda for an HIV and social protection assessment workshop, and a glossary of frequently used terms in the assessment.

Related Principles

Standards of Accessibility, Adaptability and Acceptability

The principle of equality and non-discrimination requires States to ensure that social protection programmes meet the standards of accessibility, adaptability, acceptability and adequacy for all rights holders. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has recommended these standards through several General Comments including 13, 14 and 19. Accessibility means making the social protection […]

Social Protection and Human Rights