AIDS is the leading cause of death worldwide for people aged 15-49. There are more than 33.2 million people living with HIV & AIDS, nearly 22.5 million of which live in sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately 6,000 people die every day from AIDS.1 In response to this ongoing global challenge, The SEEP Network began a cross-sectoral initiative to bring together microenterprise development and public health professionals to confront and combat the challenge of poverty in the context of HIV & AIDS. One product of this initiative is the SEEP Network Guidelines for microenterprise Development in HIV & AIDS-Impacted Communities: Supporting Economic Security and Health. The SEEP Guidelines, designed for health professionals, microenterprise development practitioners, and policy makers, offer strategic guidance for simulating a positive spiral of economic security and well-being for people and communities affected by HIV & AIDS.

From July 1st to July 7th, 2009, the SEEP Network HIV & AIDS and Microenterprise Development (HAMED) Working Group hosted the online conference Paving the Path to Savings: Advancing the Savings-Led Approach in Communities Affected by HIV & AIDS. This virtual forum was designed to be an open dialogue space for interested MED and public health professionals, in addition to being a learning platform and source of virtual peer review. The discussion was moderated by HAMED members and featured a guest panel of experts in savings-led financial services.

Key discussion topics included:

• Focus on Youth – tailoring savings programs to youth, particularly OVCs
• HAMED Savings-Led Promising Practices – highlighting the HAMED Case Study Series
• Climbing the Ladder to Integrated Programming, with an update on the case study from Kibara, Tanzania
• ChildFund International/K-REP Challenge Paper – a review of the new HAMED
• Challenge Paper that features the ChildFund International/K-REP partner project in Kenya