About Us
Who We Are?
For over 20 years, Drs. Marc Aguirre and Mark Ottenweller have worked to assist HOPE worldwide’s HIV/AIDS programs in Africa which were started with the Abidjan HIV/AIDS Clinic in 1989. Since then community HIV/AIDS programs have been started in Kenya, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These programs receive ongoing support from the HOPE worldwide Africa (HWW Africa) Team lead by Drs. Aguirre and Ottenweller.
Initially, most programs began with HIV Prevention and Care and Support of Adults Infected with HIV. With the massive and growing orphan crisis, Care and Support programs for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) were established. Over the last 10 years those OVC programs have assisted over 150,000 needy children in Africa.
Mark Ottenweller
Director of Development Africa, Sr. HIV/AIDS Advisor
Marc Aguirre
Country Director, South Africa
- 1993: Director of HOPE worldwide’s programs in the Cote d’Ivoire for the HIV/AIDS outpatient clinic and community outreach programs.
- 2003: Coordinated South Africa’s HOPE worldwide National HIV/AIDS Care and Support program.
- 2005: Program Manager of a 5-year, USAID-funded Orphans & Vulnerable Children’s (OVC) program covering 6 African countries.
- 2008: Country Director for HOPE worldwide’s OVC work in South Africa and continued as Regional Technical Advisor for Africa.
- 2012: Appointed Business Leader for HOPE worldwide’s Africa work under the Health & Social Services Division.
He is also currently a Steering Committee member of the Regional Interagency Task Team (RIATT) on Children and AIDS in Africa, and is a NACCA member and LINC fellow.
Dr Marc Aguirre is a medical doctor, who also holds a Honors degree in Medical Sciences.
Hope for Africa Advisory Group
Paul Fant
President & COO, Carolina Gas
Transmission/ Senior VP, SCANA Corporation
Robert Gauntt
Founding Partner of Avalon Advisors, LLC
Alex Hunter
Managing Director | Healthcare | Navigant
C Mack
Managing Director ANKOLE, LLC/SHABAKA, LLC
Jim Prather
CEO and Co-founder of YouData
General Manager, Catapult Systems
John Durkota
Wealth Management Advisor, Merrill Lynch
Kevin Wilson
Healthcare | Navigant
What we do
The HWW Africa Team has provided the following services to the African programs:
Training, and Capacity Building
Drs. Aguirre and Ottenweller have assisted the Country Directors and staff in Africa with management support, strategic planning, fundraising, program development, monitoring and evaluation, and grants management. Drs. Aguirre and Ottenweller also act as consultants to HOPE Cote d’Ivoire’s CIERA program funded by the US government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). CIERA aims to scale up OVC and Prevention efforts in the country. Presently Dr. Aguirre is a Steering Committee member of the Regional Interagency Task Team (RIATT) for on OVC in East and Southern Africa, coordinated by UNICEF. Dr. Ottenweller has worked with the OVC Task Force in Washington to help OVC in Africa as well.
Program Development
The HWW Africa Team has facilitated the development of large scale Community OVC and HIV/AIDS Prevention Models and Programs. These programs have been replicated at sites around Africa. Recently the HWW Africa Team in South Africa developed an Early Childhood Development (ECD) Program to provide 0-6 year old children with access to nutrition, quality education, health care, social development, and child protection through training of their caregivers and preschool managers. The ECD Program has been implemented in South Africa and training has been provided to the Country Directors and OVC Managers from around Africa.
Donor and Partner Development
During 2005-2010, the unique ANCHOR Partnership between HOPE worldwide, Coca-Cola, Rotarians for Fighting AIDS, and the Emory School of Public Health allowed HOPE worldwide to scale up its OVC efforts to 7 countries. This partnership helped HWW Africa to develop partnerships with Coca Cola, its Business Units, and its Bottlers and Rotary Clubs around Africa. Partnerships have also been built with Shell Oil, AusAid, Massmart/Wal-Mart, KFC, Halliburton, CDC, and USAID, as well as a host of local community and government partners.
Grant Management
Regional OVC grants from generous and committed donors such as Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Shell Oil, and AusAid have assisted the African sites, and these have been managed by HWW Africa. Grants have also been obtained from Massmart, the Coca Cola Africa Foundation, and KFC for Early Childhood Development in South Africa have also assisted the sites around Africa with training, manuals and materials, and technical expertise at those sites.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Drs. Aguirre and Ottenweller have worked with the African sites to develop and maintain robust Monitoring and Evaluation plans and processes for their OVC and Prevention Programs. Monthly reach figures have been reported to the donors and the quality of the services and the needs of the children are tracked. The Child Status Index tracks the progress towards the reduced vulnerability of children and the effectiveness of the programs to support them. The Prevention Programs use exit interviews, pre and post-test questionnaires, and Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, and Behavior surveys. These M&E Plans have been tracked by HWW Africa.