Children Affected by HIV and AIDS

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is having a devastating impact on the well-being of children, particularly in those countries with the highest HIV prevalence rates in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, and parts of Asia. The virus affects children in multiple ways; they may lose one or both parents and other family members, or become infected with the disease.

Aside from the physical and psychosocial stress associated with the onset of the disease itself and the experience of loss of loved ones, children affected by HIV/AIDS may additionally be subjected to the burden of caring for others, stigma, discrimination, exploitation, abuse, financial hardships, and are less likely to attend school. The social and economic effects of the disease means that areas with high AIDS-related mortality are less able to provide traditional family and community care, protection and basic services for its children.

Children with HIV-positive parents are at a greater risk of being orphaned, abandoned, removed by social services, placed into foster or institutional care, becoming homeless, or left to head households on their own. Orphaned children infected with the virus often have more difficulty obtaining care. Families and communities have rallied to provide kinship care to the large majority of the children who have lost their parents, however families and communities are struggling to cope, physically and financially, with the numbers of children involved. Despite international recognition of the damaging effects of institutional care and its high costs, institutional care has proliferated, often supported by external groups wanting to help. Far too little has been done in such countries to systematically strengthen and support HIV/AIDS-affected families and families caring for orphans, or to develop family-and community-based care for children without adequate family care.

Children should be cared for by their immediate and extended families wherever possible, with support services put in place to avoid abandonment. Regulated kinship, foster care, and local adoption should be developed for children without close relatives. Young people and communities should be provided with information on HIV/AIDS to avoid infection. Adequate medical treatment is needed to enable infected parents to live longer and to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child.

The literature in this section includes background information on countries and projects tackling the crises, including statistics, policy papers, implementation projects, and care options for children orphaned or infected by HIV/AIDS.

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Country Care Review: Philippines

Better Care Network , 16 Oct 2018

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Assessing the Nutritional Status of Orphaned and Non- Orphaned Children Aged 6-59 Months in Kakamega County, Kenya

Mary Mutete Muema, Edward Neyole, Ruth Simiyu - International Journal of Scientific Research and Management (IJSRM) , 10 Oct 2018

The objective of this study was to assess the nutritional status of orphaned and non-orphaned children in Kenya.

Challenges of developing a district child welfare plan in South Africa: lessons from a community-engaged HIV/AIDS research project

Jennifer Beard, , Anne Skalicky, Busisiwe Nkosi, Tom Zhuwau, Mandisa Cakwe, Jonathon Simon, Mary Bachman DeSilva - Global Health Promotion, 14 Jun 2018

This narrative documents the experience of researchers with the objective of documenting lessons learned in the Amajuba Child Health and Wellbeing Research Project, a collaboration between researchers from two universities and a community in South Africa which measured the impact of orphaning due to HIV/AIDS on South African households between 2004 and 2007.

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Measuring Symptoms of Psychopathology in Zambian Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Scale Validation and Psychometric Evaluation

Sarah McIvor Murray, Paul Bolton, Jeremy C. Kane, Daniel P. Lakin, Stephanie Skavenski Van Wyk, Ravi Paul, Laura K. Murray - Assessment, 06 Jun 2018

The authors of this paper sought to explore the psychometric properties and validity of the Achenbach Youth Self-Report and Child Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale among orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) living in Lusaka, Zambia.

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Mental health among adolescents living with HIV in Namibia: the role of poverty, orphanhood and social support

Shelene G. Gentz, Isabel Calonge-Romano, Rosario Martínez-Arias, Chengbo Zeng & Mónica Ruiz-Casares - AIDS Care, 30 May 2018

This study examines the mental health of adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) in Namibia, and the factors that contribute to mental health problems.

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Vulnerability Multiplied: Health Needs Assessment of 13–18‐Year‐Old Female Orphan and Vulnerable Children in Kenya

Rosy Chhabra, Nehama Teitelman, Ellen J. Silver, Jill Raufman, Laurie J. - World Medical & Health Policy, 23 May 2018

The researchers in this study conducted formative research on mental health issues and HIV/STI risk behavior in Kasarani, a large slum in Nairobi, to guide the development of future interventions.

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Socio-demographic determinants of health support services among orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria

Chima Victor - Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology , 01 May 2018

This study examined the sociodemographic determinants of child health support services provided to orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria by employing a cross sectional research design utilizing secondary data obtained from the household recoded dataset of the 2013 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS).

Social-support needs among adolescents living with HIV in transition from pediatric to adult care in Cambodia: Findings from a cross-sectional study

Graham Toth, Gitau Mburu, Sovannary Tuot, Vohith Khol, Chanrith Ngin, Pheak Chhoun and Siyan Yi - AIDS Research and Therapy, 28 Mar 2018

This study describes access, utilization and ongoing social support needs among adolescents living with HIV aged 15–17 in transition from pediatric to adult HIV care in Cambodia.

Challenges of developing a district child welfare plan in South Africa: lessons from a community-engaged HIV/AIDS research project

Jennifer Beard, Anne Skalicky, Busisiwe Nkosi, Tom Zhuwau, Mandisa Cakwe, Jonathon Simon, and Mary Bachman DeSilva - Global Health Promotion, 14 Mar 2018

The Amajuba Child Health and Wellbeing Research Project measured the impact of orphaning due to HIV/AIDS on South African households between 2004 and 2007. Community engagement was a central component of the project and extended through 2010. This article describes researcher engagement with the community to recruit participants, build local buy-in, stimulate interest in study findings, and promote integration of government social welfare services for families and children affected by HIV/AIDS.

Referral Mechanisms for Children Orphaned or Made Vulnerable by HIV

CRS, 4Children Project, 09 Mar 2018

This brief of referral mechanisms within the context of OVC programs describes the different types of referral mechanisms and describes key components of setting up a functioning referral system.