AIDS and war orphans a compelling concern

Uganda has an estimated 1.7 million orphans, the highest number in the world, and 25 percent of all households look after at least one child orphaned by either HIV/AIDS or war, according to a new study by the Ministry of Gender and Labour and Social Development, cited by the nongovernmental organisation World Vision. An analysis of the situation of orphans in Uganda within the new study suggests that the living conditions of orphans below 18 years of age will make them a "lost generation", without caretakers to help provide their immediate needs for nutrition, health care, clothing, shelter and other child rights, according to World Vision. There are about 1.6 million orphans in Uganda - representing about 18 percent of the estimated 9 million children under 18 years of age. These numbers are likely to grow to about 2 million by the end of this year, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which supports the non-governmental organisation Uganda Women's Efforts to Save Orphans (UWESO). "Of the multitudinous victims of civil strife, the saddest and the most vulnerable were the many orphans who had been left homeless, were mostly suffering from malnutrition and were exposed to disease, especially malaria, gastroenteritis, and tuberculosis," according to IFAD. In the Ugandan context, orphans are children of less than 18 years of age who have lost one or (commonly) both parents, initially due to civil strife but increasingly because of the burgeoning Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic that now affects the entire country, it said. The 1.7 million estimate for the number of children orphaned by AIDS is expected to rise to 3.5 million by 2010, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Caring for Uganda’s orphans poses a difficult challenge and many, having weak family ties, are left to fend for themselves and are in danger of drifting into a life in the streets, according to humanitarian sources. Children as young as 10 to 13 years old are sometimes burdened with the care of younger siblings and thousands of orphanages would be needed to house them, even if that were the preferred option - though putting children in institutions is often not regarded as the best option for the child. World Vision, which runs a number of projects for orphans supporting 59,772 children (an estimated 40 percent of whom are orphaned by HIV/AIDS), has welcomed the Ugandan ministry's report and urged the government to urgently adopt its key recommendation: that it develop a policy on orphans as part of its efforts to curb the crisis. Geoffrey Kalebbo, World Vision's communications manager for Uganda, told PlusNews on Thursday that the situation of orphans in the country was a "growing area of need" which required a specific government policy to address it adequately. The government report also argues that existing assistance from the Ugandan government, NGOs, religious groups, donors, bilateral agencies and others, though considerable, is only reaching a small proportion of those in need - and those not efficiently enough, according to World Vision. "This was the first study of its kind. A lot of what we have been using were really estimates based on projections," Kalebbo said. "That doesn't necessarily suggest an increase in incidences of HIV/AIDS are increasing. It means we are getting nearer to the real figures," Kalebbo added. The rapid growth in the number of orphans is considered one of the most distinct social impacts associated with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. In Uganda, one of the poorest countries in the world, with a life expectancy of 47 years for men and 50 years for women, at least 800,000 people have died of HIV/AIDS since the onset of the pandemic in the 1980s, and life expectancy is expected to worsen still further as a consequence of the epidemic, according to UWESO. With the additional burden of HIV/AIDS, the deep-rooted kinship system in many parts of the country - which has provided a resilient extended family of aunts, uncles and grandparents until now - is becoming "extremely stretched" by the increasing numbers of orphaned children, according to a statement by the organisation. [http://www.uweso.com/index.htm] Moreover, those providing care were already impoverished, often elderly or might have been depending financially and physically on the support of the very son or daughter who had died, UWESO stated. "The children affected by HIV/AIDS, therefore, are emotionally vulnerable, financially desperate, face a greater risk of being abused and are exposed to stigmatisation and neglect. On the death of parents, they quickly assume greater the responsibility of looking after each other, [and] some head families on the death of elderly grandparents," it said. "They are forced into situations such as prostitution, living on the street to eke a living, and this exposes them more to the virus, thus providing for a 'vicious like cycle of infection' in a household. They lose everything that once offered them the comfort, security and hope for the future," UWESO added. "Many children find themselves taking charge of their homes, and can't continue to go to school," said World Vision's Geoffrey Kalebbo. "Children need guardians when they grow up. Our challenge is to struggle and fill the gap, and give them guidance, and help them grow with self-dignity. That is the call," he added.