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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 |
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:
- Government of Malawi, National HIV/AIDS Policy, A Call to Renew Action, Office of the President and Cabinet, National Aids Commission, October 2003.
- Making Progress in Africa 2003, US Agency for International Development, Bureau for Africa.
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