As anywhere else in this region (SADC), the Swaziland Government is faced with the daunting task of finding workable, affordable, effective and sustainable strategies towards the mitigation of HIV/AIDS-related effects and legacies on human life and livelihoods and, their far-reaching implications to the economy and families or households, which are the foundations for a sound and sustained socio-economic activity. With respect to the plight OVCs and their communities or neighbourhoods find themselves in, the value and wisdom in the old Swazi adage that “It takes the whole community to raise a child” has never been as relevant as a guiding principle for all interventions or forms of assistance in this regard. The external assistance received such as that leveraged by the JICA for protecting the food security and productive assets like the land or fields of child–headed households, can only make a significant impact in alleviating the related primary and secondary vulnerabilities if it finds that there is a solid national policy, strategy and common vision that supports and ensures the real participation of the beneficiary communities. As rampant or poorly informed distribution of inputs or assistance, even in such compelling cases, can lead to other unanticipated or more complicated forms of vulnerability.

The researcher reviewed pertinent project documentation and held discussions and interviews with key informants in the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives at national and regional levels, EU-Micro-projects, NERCHA, community-based structures as well as visited 10 participating households in 2 administrative regions in Swaziland.

The JICA has committed a total of E24 million over 3 years – beginning with the 2004 ploughing season – to the Swaziland Government to be used in sourcing food and agricultural inputs, materials and support as strategies towards the protection of the food security, and the preservation of the home base and land assets of selected child-headed households in the four administrative regions in Swaziland. Twenty-six households in each of the 320 chiefdoms that are eligible (because the households are allocated fields as part of their home), making a total of 8,320 beneficiary households selected on the basis and degree of need to participate in the programme by the community’s leadership. In this project JICA has partnered with EU-Micro-projects as the local cooperating and hosting agency, while the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is the implementing agency. Partnerships have also been forged with NERCHA as the agency responsible for the implementation of the Indlunkhulu programme – a parent programme for the OVC child-headed households. This step has enabled the leveraging of other critical resources to the project like transport for the distribution of the inputs and, has also provided the context for the project as NERCHA is the government’s organ for the HIV/AIDS policy implementation and response action.