The Effectiveness of Educational Block Grants to Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Tanzania and Uganda

• In Event: Cross-National Studies in Meeting Challenges and Opportunities to Learn

Abstract

Little evidence is available to assist policy makers and donors in deciding what kinds of programs in developing countries are more likely to be effective in supporting the entry and continuation of OVC in secondary schools. This is particularly important for females whose education has direct bearing on child mortality in the next generation. This study gathered four kinds of outcome measures in two East African countries ravaged by the AIDS/HIV pandemic. The goal was to determine whether direct scholarship aid to individual students versus various forms of block grants would be more effective in promoting lower rates of absenteeism, lower dropout rates, higher national examination scores, and higher pass rates for OVC of both genders.

Authors

• Mary H. Shann, Boston University

• Malcolm Bryant, Boston University School of Public Health

• Bram Brooks, Boston University School of Public Health

• Paul Bukuluki, Makerere University

• Denis Muhangi, Makerere University

• Joe Lugalla, Centre for Strategic Research and Development (CESTRE)

• Gideon Kwesigabo, Center for Strategic Research and Development (CESTRE)