HIV-positive children: Who is to blame?
May 20, 2007
CHILDREN infected with HIV are asking a critical, yet incriminating question. “Who is to blame for our status?†And the adults, though with the answer, cannot bring themselves to saying it.
By Nigel Nassar
CHILDREN infected with HIV are asking a critical, yet incriminating question. “Who is to blame for our status?†And the adults, though with the answer, cannot bring themselves to saying it.
There is an air of apprehension with which they receive the query, ultimately staying gagged, yet traumatised from seeing the children suffer.
The fact remains; adults are to blame for these children’s plight. Of course, the children will not push for the answer, but they already know it. And they won’t blame the adults for infecting them, either directly or indirectly.
They are only children, innocent and forgiving as ever.
But must the adults continue sinking these innocent hearts deep down the HIV/AIDS pit?
Apart from the guilt that is eating at us, what are we doing about it? And what becomes of the future if this continues? This is the dilemma that gripped the over 450 participants during the fifth African Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect at Hotel Africana, recently.
The conference was organised by the African Network for the Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) Uganda Chapter, ANPPCAN Nairobi and the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
The three-day conference was held under the theme, ‘HIV/AIDS and Children: The challenges of care for and protection of children in Africa.’
Seventy-six children, 59 from Uganda and 12 from six Sub-Saharan countries joined academicians, researchers and
HIV activists to share experiences and research findings on childcare and protection in Africa to forge a way forward amidst the HIV/AIDS scourge.
With different speakers expressing the gravity of the dilemma children are facing, participants were at a loss for words.
The conference happens to be one of the few where the congregation stays put, wondering what lies ahead if the children continue dying and getting infected with HIV at the current rate, with others getting orphaned by the same scourge.
A research by the John Hopkins Research University, USA, estimates the number of children orphaned by the virus in Africa at 12 million, 1.7 million in Uganda.
One shocking revelation that came up during Dr Grace Ndeezi’s presentation was that 40 children worldwide die every hour as a result of HIV/AIDS.
The UNAIDS 2006 statistics indicate that 2.3 million children in the world are infected with the virus, 90% of these in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Of these, Uganda has approximately 150,000 children living with HIV. In this case, adults are to blame because 90% of infections to the children is through Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT), while 10% is through risk factors like blood transfusion, injections, accidents and sexual abuse (defilement and rape).
According to the 2006 Ministry of statistics, 20,000 children in Uganda are infected each year through MTCT.
This calls for more intervention by the Government and non-governmental organisations to sensitise people about the pandemic, with emphasis on abstinence, faithfulness in marriages and use of condoms.
This way, the current scenario, where we have an increasing number of child- headed households will be reduced.
During her presentation, Dr. Sabrina Bakeera-Kitara displayed a photograph of an old woman who has done nothing over the last few years, but take care of her eight HIV-positive grand children who were orphaned by HIV.
Taken from a rural setting, the picture showed the grandmother and the children looking hungry and unhealthy, but trying to smile for the camera.
In case the old woman dies, her home could become child-headed.
The child will not only be looking after seven children, but rather, seven HIV-positive children, him or herself inclusive.
And there is more to the pandemic than this. Only those with their eyes open can see this. Others have not had to keep on the lookout – the circumstances in which they are living have showed it all to them by default.
In his presentation, Dr. Emmanuel Luyirika, the director of medical services at the Mildmay Centre, said: “If there were no adults, children would not be HIV-positive.â€
His statement was followed by silence, adults turning to look at each other, while the children tore through their guilt-laden faces with their innocent subdued stares.
One would console oneself with media allegations of discoveries of an HIV cure, but like Dr. Alex Coutinho, the director of The Aids Support Organisation, said: “There is no cure for HIV.â€
Much as there is considerable progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, caring for children infected with the disease remains a challenge. Many children are dying due to lack of care, yet more are getting susceptible to similar deaths.
For instance, of the 660,000 children requiring antiretroviral treatment, only 10% (66,000) are receiving it. Lack of access to antiretrovirals makes children die at an early age. For instance, one out of every three newly-born HIV-infected children dies before their first birthday.
Therefore, part of the care for the children involves helping them access antiretroviral drugs and making sure that they take it appropriately.
Since adults are to blame for the predicament, they should fight the pandemic.
They can bank on the fact that the children have not sat back, but have also joined the fight.
At the end of the conference, the children presented a statement to the chief guest, the Nabagereks, Sylvia Nagginda.
In the statement, the children called on their families and the community to show them love and care and to remind them to take their medicine properly.
They also asked for access to education and for hope through spiritual and moral support.
“We call upon our government to enforce laws against child abuse and neglect, to support families of affected children with incomes and create awareness about HIV/AIDS and the children’s rights,†the statement said.
They committed themselves to be role models in the fight against the pandemic through abstaining and preaching abstinence.
The children sang a sorrowful song, “Children of Africa...see them crying, see them dying on the streets…we need love, we need care, we need ARVs to be the future generation.â€
At the end of the conference, everyone was visibly burning with the resolve that something has to be done and it is all in behavioural change. The global campaign: Unite for Children, Unite Against Aids, should not be taken for a cliché.
Children are the future generation. We need to save them.
CHILDREN infected with HIV are asking a critical, yet incriminating question. “Who is to blame for our status?†And the adults, though with the answer, cannot bring themselves to saying it.
There is an air of apprehension with which they receive the query, ultimately staying gagged, yet traumatised from seeing the children suffer.
The fact remains; adults are to blame for these children’s plight. Of course, the children will not push for the answer, but they already know it. And they won’t blame the adults for infecting them, either directly or indirectly.
They are only children, innocent and forgiving as ever.
But must the adults continue sinking these innocent hearts deep down the HIV/AIDS pit?
Apart from the guilt that is eating at us, what are we doing about it? And what becomes of the future if this continues? This is the dilemma that gripped the over 450 participants during the fifth African Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect at Hotel Africana, recently.
The conference was organised by the African Network for the Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) Uganda Chapter, ANPPCAN Nairobi and the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.
The three-day conference was held under the theme, ‘HIV/AIDS and Children: The challenges of care for and protection of children in Africa.’
Seventy-six children, 59 from Uganda and 12 from six Sub-Saharan countries joined academicians, researchers and
HIV activists to share experiences and research findings on childcare and protection in Africa to forge a way forward amidst the HIV/AIDS scourge.
With different speakers expressing the gravity of the dilemma children are facing, participants were at a loss for words.
The conference happens to be one of the few where the congregation stays put, wondering what lies ahead if the children continue dying and getting infected with HIV at the current rate, with others getting orphaned by the same scourge.
A research by the John Hopkins Research University, USA, estimates the number of children orphaned by the virus in Africa at 12 million, 1.7 million in Uganda.
One shocking revelation that came up during Dr Grace Ndeezi’s presentation was that 40 children worldwide die every hour as a result of HIV/AIDS.
The UNAIDS 2006 statistics indicate that 2.3 million children in the world are infected with the virus, 90% of these in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Of these, Uganda has approximately 150,000 children living with HIV. In this case, adults are to blame because 90% of infections to the children is through Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT), while 10% is through risk factors like blood transfusion, injections, accidents and sexual abuse (defilement and rape).
According to the 2006 Ministry of statistics, 20,000 children in Uganda are infected each year through MTCT.
This calls for more intervention by the Government and non-governmental organisations to sensitise people about the pandemic, with emphasis on abstinence, faithfulness in marriages and use of condoms.
This way, the current scenario, where we have an increasing number of child- headed households will be reduced.
During her presentation, Dr. Sabrina Bakeera-Kitara displayed a photograph of an old woman who has done nothing over the last few years, but take care of her eight HIV-positive grand children who were orphaned by HIV.
Taken from a rural setting, the picture showed the grandmother and the children looking hungry and unhealthy, but trying to smile for the camera.
In case the old woman dies, her home could become child-headed.
The child will not only be looking after seven children, but rather, seven HIV-positive children, him or herself inclusive.
And there is more to the pandemic than this. Only those with their eyes open can see this. Others have not had to keep on the lookout – the circumstances in which they are living have showed it all to them by default.
In his presentation, Dr. Emmanuel Luyirika, the director of medical services at the Mildmay Centre, said: “If there were no adults, children would not be HIV-positive.â€
His statement was followed by silence, adults turning to look at each other, while the children tore through their guilt-laden faces with their innocent subdued stares.
One would console oneself with media allegations of discoveries of an HIV cure, but like Dr. Alex Coutinho, the director of The Aids Support Organisation, said: “There is no cure for HIV.â€
Much as there is considerable progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, caring for children infected with the disease remains a challenge. Many children are dying due to lack of care, yet more are getting susceptible to similar deaths.
For instance, of the 660,000 children requiring antiretroviral treatment, only 10% (66,000) are receiving it. Lack of access to antiretrovirals makes children die at an early age. For instance, one out of every three newly-born HIV-infected children dies before their first birthday.
Therefore, part of the care for the children involves helping them access antiretroviral drugs and making sure that they take it appropriately.
Since adults are to blame for the predicament, they should fight the pandemic.
They can bank on the fact that the children have not sat back, but have also joined the fight.
At the end of the conference, the children presented a statement to the chief guest, the Nabagereks, Sylvia Nagginda.
In the statement, the children called on their families and the community to show them love and care and to remind them to take their medicine properly.
They also asked for access to education and for hope through spiritual and moral support.
“We call upon our government to enforce laws against child abuse and neglect, to support families of affected children with incomes and create awareness about HIV/AIDS and the children’s rights,†the statement said.
They committed themselves to be role models in the fight against the pandemic through abstaining and preaching abstinence.
The children sang a sorrowful song, “Children of Africa...see them crying, see them dying on the streets…we need love, we need care, we need ARVs to be the future generation.â€
At the end of the conference, everyone was visibly burning with the resolve that something has to be done and it is all in behavioural change. The global campaign: Unite for Children, Unite Against Aids, should not be taken for a cliché.
Children are the future generation. We need to save them.