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AIDS IN AFRICA
Orphans and vulnerable children: The
missing point in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa
It is indeed no understatement that children are
ultimately bearing the brunt of the HIV / AIDS onslaught on society.
Currently about 12 million children in sub-Saharan Africa have lost one,
if not both parents to HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that by 2010, the
population of orphaned and therefore vulnerable children in sub-Saharan
Africa will reach 18 million. These children face a bleak and very
disturbing future. In the absence of any welfare system to cater for
their needs, many are struggling for survival, either living rough on
the streets or with members of their extended family. In most cases,
they face a high risk of malnutrition and often death, even though they
are not HIV/AIDS positive. They are likely to suffer violence, sexual
abuse, and risk HIV infection as they drift to the streets.
The UN millennium development goals which involves
hitting set targets for reducing poverty and hunger levels, increasing
access to education, reducing mortality rate, among others, are no doubt
under threat, as a result of the increasing levels of devastation being
unleashed by the AIDS pandemic. Commenting on the gravity of the
situation, the Executive Secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission for
Africa said recently that, "The chances of any country coming anywhere
near to meeting the Millennium Development Goals is very low unless we
all tackle HIV/AIDS aggressively."
The Africa Situation
The 12 million population of African children, orphaned by AIDS, equals
to twice the population of Switzerland. And by the year 2010 in
Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, more than one in five children
will be orphaned, and more than 80 percent of those, will have lost one
or both parents through the the disease. Up to 60 percent of today's
15-year olds will not reach their 60th birthdays. It is generally
believed that in Africa, the social safety net of the extended family
shall cope with, and care for the vulnerable AIDS orphans. Indeed, they
are currently caring for 90 percent of such children. But this has
undoubtedly imposed an unbearable strain on the extended family system.
Orphaned children still remain perhaps the most intractable of all
issues related to care and support.
Orphaned teenagers
Teenage orphans constitute another group of vulnerable children in
sub-Sahara Africa. Just at the crucial formative years of their lives
they are abandoned without any living guide, and this goes to affect
their emotional development. Teenagers are very susceptible to:
I. Domestic pressure. In time when their emotional
vulnerability is naturally heightened, they are subjected to the
pressure of caring for younger siblings and work.
II. Coupled with the above factor, the teenage
orphan becomes more vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse.
This is common with girls swapping sex for food and clothes for
survival.
Community-based care
Community-based care means the community honoring and accepting
responsibilities for the upkeep of the vulnerable in their midst, the
responsibility of feeding, clothing, sheltering, and protecting the
vulnerable from abuse. This responsibility is not passed to those
outside the community. Community-based care is a vital key to protecting
the orphan and vulnerable children from stigma and discrimination, while
they are prepared or nurtured for future life in the same community. In
this technological age, care provided in institutional setting, often
fails to meet the developmental and of course long term needs of the
children. In community-based care, children benefit from care,
attention, personal and social connection the communities and the
families may provide. The AIDS epidemic is not just a health issue; it
is linked with gender inequality and poverty. As many die from AIDS in
poor and over burdened countries, we are likely to witness increasing
numbers of families headed by women, grandparents and even orphaned
children. The households headed by children continue to be poorer and
unable to provide for the children in their care.
Stigma and discrimination
Stigma and discrimination is more pervasive and damaging in Africa, more
so denial, which undermine prevention and care efforts. In Ghana,
children find themselves exempted from school as a result of the HIV /
AIDS status of their families. There is the need therefore to design
special programmes to address these problems, especially at the
community level.
Post — conflict environments
Liberia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Congo, Angola are typical examples
of where orphan and vulnerable children are prevalent. The fighting that
erupted in time past in these countries means that orphans and
vulnerable children constitute the second generation of un-parented and
un-nurtured children.
The local community most often does not have adequate resources to care
for these orphans. Many of those who survive had to permanently leave
their homes. Indeed the extended families don't have enough to cope.
Faith-based or church-sponsored orphanages are better resourced, with
access to external funding, but don't have the space to contend with the
demand on their facilities.
Policy vacuum
Most African countries have no substantive
frame work policy to address the needs of Orphaned and Vulnerable
Children.
Till urgent response in most affected nations at both the national, and
local government levels, are initiated, there can be no long-term
sustainable fight to combat the toll of AIDS on children. Governments
will need to design, and implement a national orphan and vulnerable
children strategy. Though a strategic frame-work exists in the UN
convention of the right of child, many countries have not made any
efforts at incorporating it into the overall HIV / AIDS combat strategy.
The UNICEF framework demands bold action on the
following pillars:
i. Raising awareness to create a supportive
environment for orphan and vulnerable children.
ii. Ensuring that government protects the most
vulnerable children.
iii. Mobilizing and fortifying community-based
responses.
iv. Ensuring access to essential services for
orphans and vulnerable children.
v. Fortifying the capacity of families to protect
and care for the orphans and vulnerable children.
Failures
Although it's understood that the extended families will bear the local
cost of the orphan and vulnerable crises, they appear to have been
stretched beyond their ability to cope with the care needs of the
orphans, especially in poor communities. Researched findings in Kenya
prove that orphan and vulnerable children are no longer enjoying their
previous level of care and support. The numbers of child led households
and street children have doubled. Across the world, national governments
have failed to face up to the problem of Orphaned and Vulnerable
Children, with the result that their numbers are increasing while their
prospects continue to become blurred. It's worrying to note that girl's
access to education is suffering a great deal. Millions of women are
denied education all over the world. The success of any HIV / AIDS
combat programme depends on assisting women to gain self-control over
their sexual decisions. It is important to recognize that through
education, women's decisions with regard to their sexual lives, becomes
more responsible. A number of interventions are also necessary in our
efforts to halt the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, particularly its
devastating toll on families and children. These include churches and
faith-based organizations taking a central role in challenging the
stigma and discrimination pervading in the community; acknowledging
their responsibility and duty in fostering compassionate responses to
HIV/AIDS among their congregations; thinking innovatively, utilizing
their resources to implement community- based care for orphans and
vulnerable children, making use of their uniquely authoritative and
powerful position in society. Donor and financial support countries are
entreated to include an Orphan and Vulnerable Children component in
their funding for HIV / AIDS programmes, and provide support for
community work with orphans and vulnerable children.
Governments are encouraged to factor the likely
numbers of orphans and likely economic impacts of AIDS in policy
decisions; ensure that orphans and vulnerable children can access
essential services, thus, abolishing fees for health and education for
all; support community responses through civil society organizations;
permit communities to define their own priorities and supporting
activities like childcare schemes, savings pooling, youth clubs and
other social support schemes, provide protection for vulnerable children
through a legislative frame work that guards against neglect, abuse, and
violence.
Dr. F.A.K. Biney
30 November 2004
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