Care for Orphans Article 26 HIV/AIDS has resulted in a large numbers of orphaned children: according to the 2003/4 Tanzania HIV/AIDS Indicator Survey (THIS), around 11 per cent of children below the age of 18 had lost one or both parents (please see article 14). This implies that over 2 million children are orphaned in the country, with the number expected to rise to 4 million by 2010. Many more are ‘social’ orphans and have been abandoned by their parents. As a result, more and more children are taking on responsibilities beyond their age, including running households, taking care of ailing parents, and working long hours to secure a livelihood. These are among the poorest and most vulnerable children whose needs and rights are not currently being met or protected. Orphan children are more likely to suffer economic deprivation, exploitation and discrimination. The strategy adopted by Tanzanian Government to support orphaned and vulnerable children is called the Most Vulnerable Children (MVC) Support Programme. This aims to facilitate community dialogue about vulnerable children, and to help communities to develop and review their own criteria for assessing and defining vulnerability. This project aimed to capacitate community members in order that they can identify MVC, collect data and information on MVC, and develop mechanisms and strategies for caring and supporting MVC within the community context. The strategy also involves putting in place community front liners (called Community Justice Facilitators) who have been trained to advice, guide, and refer on issues related to law and justice and human rights abuses. For example, they may support children who have been abused, or had their assets stripped following the death of their parents. The strategy provides a vehicle for data collection systems in order to better assess the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the most vulnerable children. It also provides a framework for increasing coordination between actors in order to respond and to facilitate provision of services to the identified children. 49