Issues We Face

While global campaigns, advocacy groups, and high-profile donors have brought much-needed attention to the epidemic, the somber reality is that children in the path of HIV/AIDS remain at grave risk. HIV/AIDS continues to dramatically reshape the lives of children around the world. An estimated 2.3 million children under 15 years old are infected with HIV; and 15.2 million children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents to the disease, including nearly 2 million in Uganda alone (UNICEF, 2007).

Children affected by HIV/AIDS may be particularly vulnerable to experiencing increased levels of poverty, homelessness, school dropout, separation from siblings and friends, increased workload, social isolation, discrimination, loss of life opportunity, and psychosocial distress (Tarantola & Gruskin, 1998; Makame et al., 2002; Richter, 2004; Richter et al., 2005). Such children who experience these conditions are often considered 'vulnerable' (Skinner et al., 2004), and while they may not be infected with the virus themselves, the indirect effects of HIV/AIDS serve to profoundly alter their developmental trajectories, exposing them to toxic stressors on a daily basis, and consequently, hinder children's potential to lead healthy lives and become contributing members of their family and community.

Resource constraints often limit programmatic inputs to concentrating on children's most pressing physical needs such as clothing, food, medical care, and shelter. However, recent reports (UNICEF, 2006) and peer-reviewed literature (Earls, Raviola, & Carlson, 2008) have highlighted the importance of adopting a "whole child" (Black, 1986) approach to understand the multiple dimensions of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. NFSC believes that such an approach is critical to form an effective and evidence-based response in the face of the challenge associated with chronic poverty and sickness in their community.

NFSC's community-based approach is fundamentally targeted at supporting the whole child. We believe in that health and general well-being are fundamental rights that must be afforded to all children. We subscribe to a grassroots, community-based approach to care that builds solidarity with the hundreds marginalized children and families we serve.

Black, M. (1986). The children and the nations: The story of UNICEF. Sydney, Australia: UNICEF.

Earls, F., Raviola, G. J., & Carlson, M. (2008). Promoting child and adolescent mental health in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. J Child Psychol Psychiatry.

Makame, V., Ani, C., & Grantham-McGregor, S. (2002). Psychological well-being of orphans in Dar El Salaam, Tanzania. Acta Paediatr, 91(4), 459-465.

Richter, L. (2004). The impact of HIV/AIDS on the development of children. In R. Pharoah (Ed.), A Generation at risk? HIV/AIDS, vulnerable children and security in South Africa (Vol. ISS Monograph No 109, pp. 9-31). .

Richter, L., Foster, G., & Sherr, L. (2005). Where the heart is: Meeting the psychosocial needs of young children in the context of HIV/AIDS. The Hague Bernard van Leer Foundation.

Skinner, D., Tsheko, N., Mtero-Munyati, M., Segwabe, M., Chibatamoto, P., Mfecane, S., et al. (2004). Defining orphaned and vulnerable children. Capetown, South Africa: Human Services Research Council.

Tarantola, D., & Gruskin, S. (1998). Children confronting HIV/AIDS: Charting the confluence of rights and health. Health and Human Rights, 3(1), 60-86.

UNICEF. (2006). Africa’s orphaned and vulnerable generations: Children affected by AIDS. New York: UNICEF, UNAIDS, & PEPFAR.

UNICEF. (2007). State of the World's Children 2007. New York, NY: UNICEF.