Children Affected By Aids In Sub Saharan Africa

The disproportional loss of individuals to HIV/AIDS in their most productive years raises concerns over the welfare of surviving members of affected families and communities. One consequence of the rapid increase in adult mortality is the rise in the proportion of children who are orphaned. Sub-Saharan Africa, accounts for about 90 percent of these. Mainly due to the staggering toll of HIV/AIDS, research effort has focused on treatment and prevention. Children have received attention primarily in relation to 'mother to child transmission' and paediatric AIDS. These issues are important and compelling but fail to capture the whole story - the unprecedented surge in the number of children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. In this book we reflect on the plight of children classified as vulnerable, review interventions implemented to improve their welfare and grapple with the concept of vulnerability as it relates to human rights and the African child.

Estimates the number of children orphaned in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as current research on the impact of AIDS and orphaning. Information about orphans in the region has increased significantly in recent years and research has become more rigorous. And, while information on other vulnerable children in the region lags far behind, the situation of some well-defined groups, such as children living with chronically ill parents, is now being studied more systematically. This report is meant to shed light on the circumstances of children affected by the AIDS epidemic and to encourage action.--Introduction.

Protecting Childhood in the AIDS Pandemic provides lessons from experts around the world on how to transform the outcomes of children affected by HIV/AIDS. It examines which public policies and programs best meet the full range of children's needs, from medical care to social support and from infancy to adolescence.

This book reviews the national HIV/AIDS and child labour policies and programmes, NGO projects, and community-based initiatives in three African countries - illuminating the harsh realities of the link between child labour and HIV/AIDS and identifying the broad range of responses, large and small, to these intersecting issues. (ILO Website)

And main recommendations. -- Methods. -- Background: HIV/AIDS and access to education - Surveys of AIDS-affected children's school performance - Human rights - Note on Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. -- Findings from Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda: Children as caregivers in the home - Children left on their own - Emotional burdens and AIDS-related stigma - Schools ill-equipped - Abuse and discrimination within extended and foster families - Girls' exposure to secual violence and exploitation - Abuses against parents and guardians that in turn harm children - Child-headed households - Orphaned and living with HIV/AIDS - Lack of support to community-based organizations. -- National and international responses. -- Conclusion. -- Detailed recommendations: To national, provincial, and local governments in Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda - To international agencies and donors to HIV/AIDS programs operating in Kenya, South, Africa, and Uganda, including the World Bank, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United Nations, and bilateral donors - To the above mentioned governments and donors. -- Acknowledgements. -- Appendix: Human Rights Watch's work on HIV/AIDS and children's rights.

The AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to affect all facets of life throughout the subcontinent. Deaths related to AIDS have driven down the life expectancy rate of residents in Zambia, Kenya, and Uganda with far-reaching implications. This book details the current state of the AIDS epidemic in Africa and what is known about the behaviors that contribute to the transmission of the HIV infection. It lays out what research is needed and what is necessary to design more effective prevention programs.