YouthAssets will develop and support the use of a computer-based, interactive knowledge management tool that enables youth and their supporters to access and share critical information about and for HIV/AIDS orphans. HIV/AIDS orphans would use this tool to get information on critical resources as well as share their needs. This database of information would allow funders to target certain areas and coordinate services with other providers. This project would be piloted in Swaziland, a country with the highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world.

The recently released 2006 UNAIDS document declares that “national governments, interna­tional partners and communities are failing to provide adequate care and support for the 15 million children orphaned by AIDS, and for millions of other children made vulnerable by the epidemic.” An entire generation of youth in Sub-Saharan Africa is in crisis. In Swaziland alone, a country smaller than New Jersey and with a total population of one million people, there are already 95,000 orphans. By 2010, UNICEF estimates 120,000 orphaned children – representing 22% of all children in Swaziland. While global financial support for these children is increasing, the existing minimal funding is uncoordinated among providers. Even the most recent report from UNICEF states that little information is known about what is happening to resources, especially at the local level. It states “the multisectoral nature of HIV response makes tracking difficult at the country level, so it is not known what percentage of this money is specifically helping children.

YouthAssets would create a tool for service providers to aggregate their data and use the latest mapping technologies to display resources. A youth-focused interface would allow orphans and other vulnerable children to access this information and also contribute their own knowledge and resources. Resources will be optimally allocated and youth can be active in their own care.