The SEEP Network HIV & AIDS and Microenterprise Development (HAMED) Working Group is very excited to host this week-long on-line conference that addresses Savings-Led in HIV & AIDS integrated programming through general discussion facilitated by HAMED Members and with the expert assistance of a panel of Savings-Led professionals who will be featured guest ‘speakers’ and expert posts during the course of the conference.

To register for this conference, click here.

This conference is designed to be an open dialogue space for interested MED and public health professionals in addition to being a learning platform and source of virtual peer review. The HAMED Working Group would also like to take the opportunity to announce and showcase the new HAMED Case Study Series: Climbing the Ladder to Integrated Programming. This innovative series introduces key HIV & AIDS and MED-integrated programs and tracks their progress and development as they aim to achieve sustainability and success in raising livelihood security in the communities served, the main objective of The SEEP Guidelines. For more information, see the agenda below for links to the conference discussions, and check out our downloadable conference reading materials!

Many thanks to The SEEP Network Savings-Led Working Group for their collaboration in this conference!

Schedule

Day 1: Welcome and Introduction

• July 1: Introduction to conference topics, facilitators, and resources by HAMED Facilitator Kristen Eckert

Day 1-2: Focus on Youth!

• July 1 – July 2: Featured Guest Speakers from Aflatoun: Sara de Paz-Castro (Child-Led Banking) and Rediet Abiy (Orphans and Vulnerable Children and General Youth Issues)

• July 1: Featured Guest Speaker Jeffrey Ashe of the Community Finance and Saving for Change Program at Oxfam will join the panel with Sara de Paz-Castro and Rediet Abiy.

Day 3: HAMED Savings-Led Promising Practices

• July 3: Review of HAMED case studies with Expert Post by Lisa Parrott of Save the Children, Technical Evaluator to Kibara Case Study and Kibara Update Post by Melita Sawyer, Program Specialist in Microfinance on behalf of Catholic Relief Services team.

Day 4-5: Coffee Break!

• July 4 – July 5: An opportunity for conference participants and discussants to catch-up on the dialogue and follow-up with discussion. Focused-topics to include: urban vs rural environmental challenges to Savings-Led, the need to address the lack of licensed depositors and formal vs informal banking, and targeting youth and orphans and vulnerable children.

Day 6: ChildFund International/K-REP Challenge Paper Review

• July 6: With ChildFund International (formally known as Christian Children’s Fund) Representative Lloyd McCormick. The discussion will review the new HAMED Challenge Paper that features the CCF/K-REP partner project in Kenya.

Day 7: Conference Wrap-Up

• July 7: We will wrap up and conclude the above discussion topics in addition to setting the agenda for how to move forward with Savings-Led!

Resources

• The SEEP Network Guidelines for Microenterprise Development in HIV & AIDS-Impacted Communities
• SUUBI & SEED Research Programs Presentation: Integrating Savings into Care and Support of Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in Uganda
• Discussion Paper: Banking Options for Children in Situations of Vulnerability Compounded by HIV & AIDS – Alliance in India
• CRS Learning Paper: Increasing Savings and Solidarity Among Households with Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Rwanda
• HAMED Promising Practices Case Study: Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity (IMAGE) – South Africa
• HAMED Promising Practices Case Study: Kibara Mission Hospital HIV Project – Tanzania
• Challenge Paper: Improving Access to Formal Microfinance Institutions for HIV & AIDS Affected Vulnerable Households in Kenya