Orphans of the AIDS Pandemic: The Sub-Saharan Africa Experience
Kempe Ronald Hope in AIDS and Development in Africa, 1999
Incomplete information systems in the developed and developing world render statistics and projections inconsistent and, at times, confusing. With regard to AIDS orphans, definitions, variation, and different projection methodologies have created a situation where there is a range of estimates on their current and future magnitude. However, recent data from WHO indicate that up to 15 million uninfected children in Africa will lose their mothers to AIDS by the end of the century (World Bank, 1995). An orphan is a child who is motherless or who has lost both parents (UNICEF, 1991). The definition of orphanhood in many African societies is the loss of the mother, as women are the primary care-givers (WHO, 1995), but many orphans will lose both parents to AIDS, which will exacerbate the problem for all concerned and for society as a whole. There is also the issue of HIV-infected infants and young children whose mothers may die before they do and who will require specialized care.
AIDS Orphans
Omar Bagasra, Donald Gene Pace in A Guide to AIDS, 2017
Psychological stress increases with separation from parents, but when this is coupled with separation from siblings, problems increase further. This is a regular occurrence in some regions. In Zambia, a 2002 survey found that more than half of that nation’s orphans did not reside with all of their brothers and sisters [4]. Orphans are less likely to have adequate food, shelter, clothing, educational opportunities, and health care. They are more likely to be part of a household presided over by a female, and such households are disproportionately large. They have more people but fewer wage earners to meet expenses [5]. AIDS orphans are often pressured to make financial contributions to those they live with, which increases the likelihood that they will turn to the streets for food or work. They are more likely to become beggars [6], which has its own risks and impacts on feelings of self-worth and personal safety.
The consequences of population health for economic performance
Sara Bennett, Lucy Gilson, Anne Mills in Health, Economic Development and Household Poverty, 2007
The AIDS epidemic demonstrates particularly starkly the interplay between disease and education. Educational opportunities erode as families are forced to pay more for medical and burial costs. A study in rural districts in Uganda found that one in five children living in HIV/AIDS-affected households was removed from school because school fees could not be paid or the child was required to work (Topouzis 1994). The generation of orphans HIV is creating (14 million, mostly in Africa) strains household resources and affects educational attainment (WHO 2004d). Orphans have lower school enrolment rates and live in more impoverished households. Families who receive orphans often cannot afford to send all children in the household to school and must decide which children to enrol. Boys are usually chosen over girls, and biological children are selected over orphans (Ableidinger et al. 2002). Indeed this study finds that school enrolment rates reflect the degree of kinship between the child and the head of the household. HIV/AIDS also affects the supply of education, damaging both its quantity and quality. A sharp increase in mortality rates among teachers and administrators accounts for this setback. Twelve per cent of teachers in South Africa, 19 per cent of teachers in Zambia, and more than 30 per cent of teachers in Botswana are infected with HIV (BBC 2002). In Zambia, the number of teachers killed by AIDS in 1998 was equivalent to two-thirds of the number of teachers trained in the same year (WHO 2004d). Even where teachers are present, they may be sick and ineffective.
Resilience among older caregivers in rural Namibia: The role of financial status, social support and health
Published in Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 2018
Eveline Ndii Kalomo, Kyoung Hag Lee, Elizabeth Lightfoot, Rachel Freeman
Southern Africa particularly remains the region most severely affected by HIV/AIDS in the world, with the highest number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) affected by the AIDS epidemic and the highest proportion of older caregivers of OVCs (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS [UNAIDS], 2014b). Namibia has consistently been among the most affected by AIDS in Southern Africa. Current estimates show that Namibia has 16,000 children aged 0–14 living with HIV (UNAIDS, 2014a), and 1 in 10 Namibian child is living with at least one sick or chronically ill older adult (Namibia Statistics Agency [NSA], 2012b). Furthermore, there are approximately 53,000 children orphaned by AIDS between the ages of 0 and 17 (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS [UNAIDS], 2014a), which is among the highest rates of AIDS orphans in the world. Many AIDS-orphaned children live in poverty, and a 22% of these children are living with a pensioner (i.e., adult aged 60 or older) in the home (NSA, 2012a).
The impact of depressive symptoms and social support on resilience among older adult caregivers
Published in Health Care for Women International, 2022
Eveline Ndinelao Kalomo, Jung Sim Jun, Kyoung Hag Lee
Literature is replete with evidence that HIV/AIDS continues to be one of the current global public health research priorities (Kuo et al., 2020). The unabated HIV epidemic, combined with the concerted effort to expand antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage in sub-Saharan Africa, has heightened the demand for the long-term care and support of orphans due to AIDS. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), 2021) reported that 17 million children have lost one or both biological parents to HIV, and more than 90% of those orphaned due to AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide in 2016, 120,000 children died because of AIDS-related illnesses which is equivalent to 328 deaths each day (Avert, 2020). Namibia, one of the sub-Saharan countries, has a total population of just over 2 million (Namibia Statistics Agency [NSA], 2014). The country has a generalized HIV epidemic with a 13% prevalence rate one of the highest in the world (SOS Namibia, 2020). An estimated 242,141 people are living with HIV (PLWHA) in that country (Namibia Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment [NAMPHIA], 2018). According to the most recent data, the national HIV prevalence in Namibia was 12.6% among adults aged 15 and 64 years in 2017 (NAMPHIA, 2018). Nationwide, recent reports estimate that 344,055 orphans and vulnerable children have been affected as a direct result of the AIDS crisis (UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS), 2019).
Review of Ebola virus disease in children – how far have we come?
Published in Paediatrics and International Child Health, 2021
Devika Dixit, Kasereka Masumbuko Claude, Lindsey Kjaldgaard, Michael T. Hawkes
While much has been learned recently about how EVD affects the paediatric population, there remain considerable areas for improvement. Optimising care of children will require further refinements in direct medical interventions as well as the way in which care is provided. Paediatric patients are among the most vulnerable and, while they have made up approximately a quarter of all cases in more recent outbreaks, they present unique challenges. Orphans risk morbidity and mortality from other afflictions such as dehydration and malnutrition. The neonate and infant have unique and evolving immune systems that make their care and the use of vaccination and therapeutics different from those of adults. Separation of the sick child from parents is experienced as a drama in Africa. It affects the parent–child relationship and can cause delay in care-seeking or meet resistance in society.
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