HIV/AIDS and Children

By Caven masuku

The HIV/ AIDS pandemic have had an enormous impact on the world. The increasing rate of HIV infection affects children in countless ways and in nearly every aspect of their lives.
The number of children living with HIV/AIDS continues to grow daily as children are born to HIV infected mothers, contract the virus from their mother during pregnancy and during birth.
In addition, there are millions of orphans who have lost at least one parent to an HIV/AIDS related illness. Although the number of orphans is staggering its effects are only just begging. Children who suffer from or have died of AIDS related diseases, such as tuberculosis are stressed with additional related orphans
Girls are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and the negative effect of the virus. They face the possibility of both physical abuse and the exploitation of labour.
The effects of HIV/AIDS on the children’s lives can be economic, educational, social and psychological.
Economic effects on children can be in the form of savings used for medications/treatment and children must work to supplement the family’s income. Such illness reduces the economic performance of the household.
Economic hardship makes it necessary to look for alternatives sources of income for example through prostitution, street children, or early marriage. When both parents have died or are enable to care for their children, they are shifted into the homes of the extended family, often taxing the financial stability of those households.
Furthermore, lower nutritional status in house hold with less income and many children make the whole situation worse.
More so, the pandemic affects children educationally; other responsibilities may cause children to drop out from school. Unsolved psychological trauma caused by the HIV/AIDS can undermine the performance of children at school. This worsens the whole scenario as the traditional skills, passed through the generations, die with the parent before imparting it to the children.
Orphans face stigmatization by other children even at school and this sometimes thwart their performance.

HIV has social effects in some communities since taking non-related children into one’s home can cause social unrest. It is a taboo that dying should not be talked about to children, so children do not understand what will be happening until their parents die.
Most of the times when a will is written it is disregarded by greedy relatives who leave nothing for their orphans children. In some instances children become the head of households and can not provide all the necessities.
Poor families are affected since losing a family member may impoverish them, moving from poverty to destitute.
Married ones let us join hands and fight this pandemic before it is late. Single ones let us be responsible for whatever we do with our loved ones so as not to impede someone’s life.
For sure AIDS is there and is wiping the population day and night, hence people should fight tooth, nail and claws.