WUNRN
AIDS ORPHANS - CHILDREN IMPACTED BY
HIV/AIDS
THE GIRL CHILD AIDS ORPHAN
Hunger
and HIV/AIDS
One of the most devastating consequences of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is the growing number of children the disease has orphaned. Globally, 15.2 million children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents to AIDS. By 2010, this number could reach 25 million. Long before their parents actually die, children begin to suffer the knock-on effects of chronic illness in their family: Studies show that children who have lost one parent are at greater risk of chronic malnutrition than children from two parent households; Orphans and other children affected by HIV and AIDS are often deprived of an education and obliged to assume adult responsibilities at a very young age. In some of the hardest hit areas, children are becoming the heads of households as soon as their parents die; AIDS orphans are often stigmatised and not given the same opportunities as other children to learn skills and seek services; Orphans who find new homes with extended families are often the last to be fed and the first to be taken out of school. The result: an increasing number of undernourished and under-educated young people.
Latest evidence shows that the strongest protective factors that reduce sexual risk taking are school-related: feelings of school connectedness; academic performance; and, number of years of education, among other things.
Studies from several African countries show that orphans are more likely to suffer from chronic malnutrition than non-orphans. Food aid should reach HIV-affected households before children become orphaned, in addition to supporting orphans directly. WFP's food for education programmes give all orphans and other vulnerable children the nutrition, skills and confidence they need to lead productive and healthy lives. The agency ensures one nutritious meal a day to millions of school children and provides take home rations to children who are especially vulnerable. Education is an effective way of mitigating both the impact and the spread of HIV and AIDS. WFP, together with its partners, uses its school feeding programme as a platform for HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention education.
Through informal education programmes and food for training activities, children affected by HIV and AIDS learn critical livelihood skills that help to secure their future. In addition, home-based care programmes that target the chronically ill can be used to identify and reach vulnerable children by helping them to access education and training opportunities. In an effort to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on families and communities, WFP ensures that food is part of a larger package provided to HIV-affected households. The Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools is an innovative programme being implemented in conjunction with FAO in several countries. It provides vulnerable adolescents with agricultural skills and crucial information on health and nutrition. To help strengthen agricultural capacities WFP also supports conservation farming in Zambia and community-based agricultural activities in Swaziland.
Text and photograph - courtesy World Food Programme website.
================================================================
To leave the list, send your request by email to: wunrn_listserve-request@lists.wunrn.com.
Thank you.