Even after working on child survival issues for over a year, I still find myself occasionally forgetting that my old assumptions about HIV and AIDS are false. These are not—as I used to believe—"adult" diseases. The HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is raging as fiercely as ever in many parts of the world, has a merciless impact on children. Every day scores of children die of AIDS, while others are left orphaned when the disease kills their parents.
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| © UNICEF/ HQ06-2212/Giacomo Pirozzi |
| MOZAMBIQUE: A 10-year-old boy rests at Maputo Day Hospital in Maputo, the capital. He has a bandage on his face and an intravenous port in his hand. The boy is HIV-positive and receives ARV treatment at the hospital. The UNICEF-supported facility provides medicine and psychosocial support, including counseling and art therapy, to HIV-positive children. |
Take a look at some pretty harsh statistics:
- Globally, children under 15 accounted for 2.1 million of the estimated 33.2 million people living with HIV in 2007.
- Most children are infected with the virus during pregnancy and delivery or while breastfeeding. About 50 percent of infants who get HIV from their mothers die before their second birthday. In 2007, some 420,000 children were newly infected with HIV and 290,000 died of AIDS.
- In 2007, some 5.4 million young people aged 15-24 were living with HIV. Of these, 3.1 million are women.
- In sub-Saharan Africa, the estimated number of children under 18 orphaned by AIDS more than doubled between 2000 and 2007, currently reaching 12.1 million.
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| © UNICEF/ HQ07-0977/Olivier Asselin |
| GHANA: Students raise their hands in a class on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, at E.P. Junior Secondary School in the city of Tamale, capital of Northern Region. UNICEF is supporting HIV/AIDS education activities in primary and secondary schools, including peer education for students and teacher training to facilitate classroom discussions. |
One of the biggest challenges UNICEF faces in tackling this disease is that, in so many countries, children and adults alike who have HIV are stigmatized. Because of this, people often avoid testing themselves and their children; they'd rather not know they are sick than learn the truth and risk being shunned by their family or community.
That's why UNICEF spends tremendous time and resources working to change attitudes towards people who have contracted HIV. And to give those who have HIV not just the medicines they need to survive, but also the counseling and the hope they need to continue to live full, rich lives.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, UNICEF supports a group that's actually called the ‘hope-givers’—volunteers who have been impacted directly or indirectly by the disease and who participate in counseling sessions, make home visits and help other HIV-affected families with medical, psychological and nutritional support. In Swaziland, community volunteers provide food, basic education and health services to children who have been orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS at centers called Neighborhood Care Points.
Trying to change attitudes about HIV is no easy task. But in countries like South Africa and Ecuador, UNICEF has helped launch advertising campaigns aimed at dispelling the stigma of HIV transmission from parent to child. The ads encourage future parents to get tested for HIV as soon as a woman learns she's pregnant, so they can access interventions that reduce the risk of HIV transmission to the baby. Meanwhile, in India, a seven-coach train called The Red Ribbon Express has been traveling throughout the country for almost a year, spreading awareness about HIV/AIDS. The UNICEF-supported train is equipped with educational material, interactive touch screens and even special counseling cabins.
UNICEF will continue to find innovative ways—like The Red Ribbon Express—to teach young people the life skills they need to avoid getting infected. And to make sure they know that, if they do, they are not alone.
