Vulnerable Orphans of AIDS

01/12/2005 - Ottawa, Canada: In the five years since the landmark UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was adopted unanimously by UN Member States, that pandemic continues to devastate the lives of millions of children around the world, effectively robbing them of their futures.

One of the world's largest child-focused charities, SOS Children’s Villages has given long-term family care to orphaned and abandoned children for more than fifty years. However, faced with the overwhelming numbers of children affected by HIV/AIDS, the organization is creating new approaches and initiatives to meet the crippling need for care, medical aid, education and social development.

According to the UNAIDS/WHO report on HIV/AIDS released on November 21, 2005, the number of people living with HIV globally has reached its highest level, with an estimated 40.3 million people, up from 37.5 million in 2003. More than three million people died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2005; of these, 570,000 were children. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the most affected globally, with 64% of new infections occurring in that region.

The social support programs of SOS Children's Villages focuses primarily on efforts to help children and young people whose health, lives and futures are threatened by the enormous toll taken by HIV/AIDS. The main target areas for programs are Southern Africa, the Western and Central African regions, East Africa and countries in Eastern Europe.

SOS Children's Villages now operates 57 social centres and social support programs working with children affected by HIV/AIDS on the African continent. By late-2007, that number is expected to increase by 21. There are also HIV/AIDS related projects for children, young people and their families in Estonia and Ukraine, and numerous SOS Children's Village facilities throughout the world. Locally based HIV/AIDS relief programs at the community level are a top priority. In many cases SOS Children’s Villages operates HIV/AIDS awareness programs in cooperation with other relief organizations, community initiatives and local authorities.

In the sub-Sahara, children are increasingly vulnerable. Growing numbers of children live in households with sick and dying family members. Countless numbers have lost all of their immediate family to the disease. Grandparents, in dire economic circumstances themselves, are left to care for these children. When there are no grandparents, older brothers and sisters become the chief caregivers.

The stigma of HIV/AIDS and the discrimination towards its victims continues to be a significant problem, which extends not only to people who are HIV positive, but also to the children whose parents are infected or have died of HIV/AIDS related causes. In many cases, taboos are not the only issue. Access to basic care and education is blocked, spurring on the vicious circle of poverty and, disease.