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| Over 13 million African children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa |
Florence
Mayenda, 20, is the first-born daughter in a family of five children. She
resides in the administrative capital of Malawi, Lilongwe. Together with her
sisters, they have lived as orphaned children for three years now. Both her
parents have died. The first to depart was her father in 1995 and seven years
later her mother also succumbed to the global pandemic after fighting HIV/AIDS
related illness for three years.
Life
has not been easy after the demise of her mother in 2002. The departing of her
mum has meant another task for her. She has taken the parental role of looking
after her younger sisters.
Taking
the responsibility of breadwinner in a family of kids has been an uphill task
for her, considering her present age. She has to plan how to manage her time so
that at the end of the day the rest of the family can have something to stomach.
Her
younger sisters sometimes get their lunch from a nearby center that looks after
orphaned children.
However,
financial and material resources determine availability of food for orphans,
aged between 3- 12 years. The center relies on donors and well-wishers for
support.
“It
has been a very tough ride for me and my younger sisters. Taking up a role as a
parent has meant that I stopped school. I did not even go as far as secondary
education," she laments.
Forced
into Ignorance, Disease and Child Labor
The
effects of the pandemic have also lead to high school dropouts among the
children. The results have been high numbers of street kids in the commercial
centers of Blantyre and Lilongwe of Malawi.
A
Civil Society Coalition for Basic Education (CSCBE) statement released during
the Global Commemoration on Education this year says that illiteracy rates in
Malawi have reached 40 percent according to the 1998 census. Only 30 percent of
the children complete primary education and the dropout rate is 15 percent for
boys and 16 percent for girls.
Findings
indicate that young girls whose parents have died as a result of the HIV/AIDS
scourge have ended up in extra-marital relationships with adults. These
relationships result from a background of lack of resources to meet the basic
necessities in life. The result in many cases is early pregnancies, contracting
sexually transmitted diseases or catching the deadly HIV/AIDS virus through
un-protected sex.
Other
reports state that orphaned children in remote parts of the country end up
working in tobacco and tea estates. Children's rights groups have lamented over
this development, as it fringes upon the rights of a child. According to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, employing children is an infringement of
their fundamental human rights.
Long,
Hard Days
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A lost childhood
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Asked
how Florence begins her day, she narrates that it’s not all that easy. “I
wake up early in the morning around
4:30 am and prepare breakfast for my young sisters. Often times it is porridge
made from maize flour,” she says.
She
makes sure that all her younger sisters have bathed and dressed in their school
attire. She actually fought gallantly through piecework to purchase the school
uniform. She then sends them off for school.
Her
workday begins by looking for piecework from her regular clients. Oftentimes she
washes her neighbors' clothes or assists in collecting water for housing
constructors in the area.
Florence
says that on a good day she earns about MK400.00 (an equivalent of US$4), using
the money for basic food supplies, soap, sugar and other necessities.
Africa's
Heavy Burden
According
to a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) publication, Making
Progress in Africa 2003, the pandemic continues to expand and Africa remains
by far the world’s most affected continent with an estimated 26.6 million
people living with HIV/AIDS. Women are the most vulnerable to the pandemic; they
are at least 20 percent more likely to be infected than men.
Prevalence
rates vary greatly, but Southern Africa is the region most affected by the
epidemic; Botswana and Swaziland both have prevalence rates close to 40 percent.
However, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have all seen a welcome decline in prevalence,
reads the report.
A
correlated consequence of the effect of the pandemic is the growing number of
orphans. Over 13 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both
parents to HIV/AIDS, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. This number is expected
to rise to 25 million by 2010.
With
infection rates still rising and adults continuing to succumb to the disease,
HIV/AIDS will continue to cause large-scale suffering among children for at
least the next decade.
Malawi
not the Exception
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| Only 30 percent of Malawi
children complete primary education |
Malawi,
like its neighbors in sub-Saharan Africa, has been severely affected by
HVI/AIDS. The first case of AIDS in the country was diagnosed in 1985. Since
then, epidemiology data shows an escalating epidemic. For example, in a sample
of pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in urban Blantyre, HIV
sero-prevalence rose from 2.6 percent in 1986 to over 30 percent in 1998,
decreasing only slightly to 28.5 percent in 2001.
In
2001, Malawi national adult prevalence (15-49 years) was estimated at 15
percent, translating into almost 740,000 adults living with HIV/AIDS according
to the National Aids Commission (NAC) 2001. HIV/AIDS prevalence is almost twice
as high in urban areas, at 25 percent, compared to 13 percent in rural areas.
Annual deaths due to the pandemic are estimated at over 80,000.
The
epidemic has affected all sectors of Malawian society especially social
services. For example in the health sector, the maternal mortality rate has more
than doubled, largely due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Patients occupy more than 50
percent of hospital beds, and more than 70 percent of all pulmonary tuberculosis
(TB) patients also have HIV infection. In the education and agricultural
sectors, teachers and extension workers are dying at a faster rate than
replacements can be trained.
The
HIV/AIDS scourge in this sub-Saharan African country has resulted in the
deterioration of the economic viability of most homes in Malawi due to the loss
of breadwinners. The victims are the orphans, who are forced at an early age
into the toils and responsibilities of adulthood.
Sources:
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Government
of Malawi, National HIV/AIDS Policy, A Call to Renew Action, Office of the President
and Cabinet, National Aids Commission, October 2003.
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Making
Progress in Africa 2003, US Agency for International Development, Bureau for
Africa.
Charles
Mkoka is an
independent Malawian environmental writer with much experience in environmental
issues. He has worked in the field of environment and natural resources since
1996, after graduating from the Malawi Natural Resources College . Apart from
being a writer, he is also a wildlife educator, specialist and guide. You can
reach him at: mkokach@yahoo.com
