AIDS: The Tragedy Facing Children in Sub-Sahara Africa

Few things affect the entire world, and HIV/AIDS is one of them. While the whole world is affected by this terrible disease, the area of sub-Sahara Africa has been affected the most with large quantities now suffering because of HIV/AIDS. Children have become major sufferers of HIV/AIDS, both from having the disease passed on to them and from being orphaned as parents die of AIDS. When numbers are combined, four countries alone in sub-Sahara Africa have together over 660,000 children with HIV/AIDS and over four million orphans. It is important to know what is being done to help the sufferers and what still needs to be done to assist in the HIV/AIDS crisis amongst children in sub-Sahara Africa

Children affected by HIV/AIDS attending programmes to improve psychosocial well-being: current status and pathways to effective interventions

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has a substantial impact on children across the globe and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Across sub-Saharan Africa, there are a number of organisations and programmes providing care and support to children affected by HIV/AIDS. However, this strong programmatic focus on mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on children at community level has not been matched with concomitant research investment into the needs of children who attend these programmes at these organisations, their health and development, how these organisations work, and whether they are effective. This thesis attempts to address this gap by reporting on three separate analyses of data from the Child Community Care study in South Africa and Malawi, and a systematic review on interventions to improve psychosocial wellbeing of this group. The first analysis describes developmental outcomes of children affected by HIV/AIDS attending community-based programmes and the types of services these children are receiving. The second analysis reports on the mental health of carers of children affected by HIV. In the third analysis I report on the relationship between different forms of violence and mental health status among children affected by HIV/AIDS in the sample. The fourth part is a systematic review of interventions developed to improve the psychosocial well-being of children affected by HIV/AIDS, published between January 2008 and February 2016. The results of these studies highlight the complex needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS attending these organisations. CBOs are reaching a vulnerable group of children and their families, and are well-placed to intervene with this population. There are promising models of interventions available, although the evidence base remains small. Caregivers should not be neglected in programming; parenting programmes provide a potential mechanism for delivering integrated interventions that address multiple risk factors for caregiver and child wellbeing. Mental health, particularly of caregivers, should be explicitly addressed as a part of CBO programming. However, funding for programming needs to be implemented with opportunities for training and supervision. In addition, there is a need for increased partnerships between practitioners and researchers in order to evaluate existing programmes and to design evaluation studies that suit community settings, and that can feed into the growing evidence base

Ukimwi : HIV/AIDS in Kenya

This manuscript points out the deficiencies school counseling programs in Kenya for children/adolescents affected/infected by HIV/AIDS. In addition, the paper is intended to inform, guide, and encourage policy makers, program developers, and school counselors as they develop school counseling interventions for the disease. The focus of the paper is limited to children/adolescents because they bear the greatest burden of HIV/ AIDS infections. The paper also provides evidence for planning and implementation of culturally and developmentally relevant, school-based counseling interventions. The paper explores the impact of HIV/AIDS on Kenyan children/adolescents infected/affected by HIV/AIDS and points out the factors that hinder prevention of the pandemic

Social and economic consequences of HIV and AIDS on children: case study of a high-density community in Harare, Zimbabwe

We present results from a household-based survey that was conducted in Mabvuku, a high-density community in Zimbabwe. The objective of the study was to improve understanding of social and economic consequences of HIV and AIDS on children. Children affected by HIV and AIDS (CABA) formed the treatment group while those not affected by HIV and AIDS (non-CABA) were the control group. We found that many of the differences in the socio-economic indicators that we studied between CABA and non-CABA were not significant. Therefore our results indicate a gloomy scenario for all the children. These results are consistent with existing literature which indicates that the impact of HIV and AIDS is exacerbated by poverty. Based on evidence from this paper, we conclude that programmes and interventions targeted at children should encompass both CABA and non-CABAwithin a framework of sustained commitment to improving the lives of these children. We hope that our findings will be used in the formulation of interventions and strategies to improve the situation of children affected by HIV and AIDS and/or living in impoverished communitie

An introduction to family-centred services for children affected by HIV and AIDS

Family-centred services in the context of HIV/AIDS acknowledge a broad view of a "family system" and ideally include comprehensive treatment and care, community agencies and coordinated case management. The importance of family-centred care for children affected by HIV/AIDS has been recognized for some time. There is a clear confluence of changing social realities and the needs of children in families affected by HIV and AIDS, but a change of paradigm in rendering services to children through families, in both high-prevalence and concentrated epidemic settings, has been slow to emerge

Assessing responses and interventions to orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS: A case study of the experiences of HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in Gugulethu, Cape Town

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-77).This study examines how children who are exposed to the impact of HIV/AIDS in their immediate families are affected; what their experiences are and what coping strategies they employ on a day to day basis. Such children are referred to as HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Furthermore, the study examines the response proposals of key role players, such as government departments, civil society organisations and the affected communities, in dealing with the challenges faced by HIV/AIDS OVCs

In the Spirit of Ubuntu: Enforcing the Rights of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa

This Article discusses the traditional African concept of ubuntu, which is frequently cited in South African jurisprudence, and analyzes South Africa\u27s lack of compliance with the human rights of orphans and vulnerable children whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa explicitly protects children\u27s rights and various socio-economic rights of concern to children, and the Constitutional Court of South Africa has held such rights to be justiciable. The constitutional rights of South African children affected by HIV/AIDS, however, have been continually violated. This Article discusses how the existence of these constitutional rights may assist orphans and vulnerable children as well as those advocating on their behalf. It also identifies legal strategies pertaining to such rights that may be used to improve the lives of HIV/AIDS-affected children in South Africa

Scaling up HIV/AIDS interventions through expanded partnerships (STEPs) in Malawi

"This paper discusses enabling and constraining factors related to the scaling-up of the Scaling Up HIV/AIDS Interventions Through Expanded Partnerships (STEPs) initiative, supported by Save the Children U.S.A. (SC), to combat HIV/AIDS in Malawi. It also discusses potential threats to and contextual factors limiting scaling up of STEPs. The report draws primarily upon the available literature and qualitative data collected during a five-day visit to SC Malawi in December 2002. STEPs started in 1995 as Community-Based Options for Protection and Empowerment (COPE). COPE was a service-delivery program in Mangochi District to assist children affected by HIV/AIDS. Through evaluations, SC realized that such an approach was unsustainable, not cost-effective, and not scalable. Based on the recommendations of the evaluations and on field experience, the program changed course to mobilize collective action to combat the epidemic. Working in the Namwera community in Mangochi under the National AIDS Commission (NAC), STEPs revitalized the dormant decentralized AIDS committees and their technical subcommittees at the district, community, and village levels. Based on the positive experience in Namwera, the program changed its initial strategy to that of an external change agent, assisting communities with community mobilization and capacity building so that communities became empowered to act collectively to address their problems. Village AIDS committees (VACs) first identify the vulnerable. Then VACs plan responses on the basis of the nature and magnitude of vulnerability within the villages, needs of the vulnerable, and capacity within villages to respond. The committees also monitor activities and mobilize resources. As the needs of the most affected communities are crosscutting, the program has become truly multisectoral, with activities along the continuum of prevention, care, support, and mitigation. STEPs has also been influencing national policies related to HIV/AIDS and children." Authors' AbstractCapacity building ,HIV/AIDS Africa ,Collective action ,Community organizations ,Community mobilization ,Scaling up ,

In the Spirit of Ubuntu: Enforcing the Rights of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa

This Article discusses the traditional African concept of ubuntu, which is frequently cited in South African jurisprudence, and analyzes South Africa\u27s lack of compliance with the human rights of orphans and vulnerable children whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa explicitly protects children\u27s rights and various socio-economic rights of concern to children, and the Constitutional Court of South Africa has held such rights to be justiciable. The constitutional rights of South African children affected by HIV/AIDS, however, have been continually violated. This Article discusses how the existence of these constitutional rights may assist orphans and vulnerable children as well as those advocating on their behalf. It also identifies legal strategies pertaining to such rights that may be used to improve the lives of HIV/AIDS-affected children in South Africa

Clinical research in HIV-1 infected children

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was described for the first time in 1981. Two years later the previously unknown human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was identified as the causative agent. HIV has been included in the genus Lent/viruses of the Retroviridae family. Two types are recognized: HIV-1 and HIV-2. Of these, HIV-1 is the primary etiologic agent of the current pandemic. HIV probably originates from simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) which is endemic in African monkey species. Cross species transition may have occurred trough preparation and eating of monkey meat Even today more than one-filth of the monkey meat sold in the markets of Cameroon is infected with SIV. The available evidence suggests that SIV entered the human population from multiple zoonotic infections_ The last common ancestor of the main group of HIV-1 is dated in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Since the eighties of last century a devastating pandemic has developed. At the end of 2003, 40 million people were infected by HIV/AIDS of which 5 million people had been newly infected in that year alone. Ninety-five percent of the new infections occur in the developing countries and 50% in women with child-baring potential. Since mother to child transmission (MTCT) is the main route for transmission of HIV-1 in children, the high number of HIV infected mothers imposes a global health thread to children. Indeed in 2003, 500,000 children died from HIV/AIDS and another 700,000 were newly infected. Besides imposing a direct health risk to children HIV also causes major social and economic dilemmas. HIV mostly affects young adults, killing one or both parents of the children of AIDS victims. Between 10 and 15 million children have become orphans. Hence by destroying human capital and the mechanisms that generate human capital fonmation HIV/AIDS undermines the basis of economic grow1h. If nothing is done to fight the current epidemic HIV-affected countries face economic collapse. In addition, children and families affected by AIDS often face rejection and social isolation