In 1995, Save the Children/US's COPE Project (Community-Based Options for Protection and Empowerment) began in Malawi as a tiny experiment in providing direct services to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on communities. Building on its own experience and that of other Malawi programs, COPE quickly evolved into a program aimed at mobilizing and harnessing community strengths and resources to deal with HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Over the past six years, with funding from USAID's Displaced Children and Orphan's Fund, the COPE model in Malawi has been carefully developed and slowly expanded to cover 9% of the national population.
Like its neighbors in Eastern and Southern Africa, Malawi is severely affected by HIV/AIDS. The growing number of orphans is one of the pandemic's most visible and troubling impacts. These children's health, development, education and social integration are already seriously compromised, and as their numbers increase, the problems will become much worse.
Malawi's National AIDS Commission launched the National HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework for 2000 to 2004 in October of 1999. Community mobilization and capacity building are a key implementation strategy, with implementation activities decentralized to the District Assembly and its District AIDS Coordinating Committee (DACC). The COPE program, which builds on government's district and local AIDS Committee structure, is an integral part of the Malawi's response to HIV/AIDS at all levels.