Orphans and vulnerable children: The concept of “vulnerable” children in Africa
Key words: children’s rights, Orphaned and Vulnerable Children, OVC, vernacularization, language, human rights and culture
Introduction
Language and the words we use matter in human rights. Words are of greater importance when we use them to describe both simple and complex concepts in our surroundings. Furthermore, language and culture are powerful forces in the understanding, translation, transmission and protection of human rights, especially the rights of children. “Orphans and Vulnerable Children” or commonly known as OVC is a term that has been used to describe the growing population of children who have lost either one or both parents to AIDS or children
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The AIDS epidemic ravaged communities and behind the trail of tears are millions of children who lost parents, siblings, grandparents and other family members who were caretakers. Since the onset of the AIDS pandemic 30 years ago, the population of children impacted by AIDS – through losing one or both parents – will continue to increase. Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of this epidemic. These are the orphans and vulnerable children – a main target of HIV/AIDS programming for children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS.
This essay is inspired by the recently published book, Children and AIDS: Sub-Saharan Africa in which the editors, Margaret Lombe and Alex Ochumbo challenge Africans and all those working to ensure African children’s rights are realized:
“We hope to prompt a reflection and dialogue on the plight of the African child who has been classified as vulnerable. For the authors, this question is a serious moral issue pointing to broad societal malaise. How did the phenomenon of child vulnerability take hold in sub-Saharan Africa? What happened to the familial and extra-familial systems of care that define the spirit of “Ubuntu”? how does this experience impact Africa’s
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It is not clear how long the term “orphans and vulnerable children has been in use. The usage of this term is heavily associated with immense effort by the United States government to combat HIV/AIDS introduced through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) IN 2003. Among its successes, PEPFAR has been instrumental in supporting HIV treatment, prevention, care and support for orphans and vulnerable children. According to PEPFAR’s first annual report, Orphans are defined as children under the age of 18 years who have lost either a mother or father, and vulnerable children are those affected by HIV through the illness of a parent or principal caretaker. The OVC Toolkit by the World Bank is a comprehensive tool which defines core concepts such as “child”, “orphan”, “vulnerability” and also the downward spiral of child vulnerability. These frameworks and definitions are important, they trace the sources and impacts of of various vulnerabilities experienced by children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS – this helps in the operationalization of the challenge and population of children in
“Clinically, the HIV infected adolescents present as physically stunted individuals, with delayed puberty and adrenarche. Mental illness and substance abuse are important co-morbidities” (Naswa, 2010). Naswa, 2010 also reports that adolescences with HIV have a higher susceptibility rate to contract STD’s that the average individual due to the thinner lining of mucus in the ovaries at this stage of their development. The stigma of living with HIV is also a factor for her psychosocial development. The fact that she contracted this disease from her father further contributes to emotional trauma.
In examining 28, we saw Nolen’s literary merit. Nolen seamlessly combined personal stories with factual evidence, included and defeated counter-arguments, and inspired us, people half a world away, to truly care about this urgent issue and care for those impacted. 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa is a must read for all, especially those with common misconceptions about AIDS. Nolen gracefully rejects the misunderstandings while breaking down the wall of stigma and meticulously pinpoints the results of HIV/AIDS on the lives of the innocent. This is a must-read book that can shape opinions as never before.
The country’s first cases of HIV were detected in 1982. About 2.6 million Ugandans were infected while 1.6 million people lost their lives to the HIV/AIDS illness. HIV/AIDS is a massive issue which currently, 7.2 percent of Uganda’s population is living with. 90% of HIV cases are discovered in developing countries and Uganda has the 7th highest number of HIV cases reported all over the world. This amounts to an estimated 1.4 million people, which includes approximately 190,000 children. In 2011 an estimated 62,000 people died from AIDS and 1.1 million children have been orphaned due to the virus. HIV is more common in women at 5.4 percent, compared to 2.4 percent prevalence rate amongst men. Developing countries such as Uganda have less money to support their basic necessities. Majority of these people do not have enough money to purchase health care to help keep them safe from the virus. As well in Uganda there is a lack of education about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted. Children need to be educate...
Children should not have to go through any of that. It is quite unbelievable but “HIV rates for homeless people are three to nine times higher than report rates for competitive samples in the US. A study across four cities found a prevalence of two point three percent for homeless youth under twenty five” (“eleven facts about homeless”). “Two million and two hundred thousand children die each year due to the fact they do not become immunized. Fifteen million children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS” according to Snah. The HIV rates for homeless children are not good. The rate needs to go down. Out of all the runaway youths, over forty percent have been abandoned by their parents. Also, over forty percent have been beaten by their parents (“eleven facts about homeless”). It is proven children with homeless mothers are more likely to stay with them than if their father had been homeless (“Homeless”). Almost half of runaways happen when they have been abandoned or
The Stephen Lewis Foundation provides care for women suffering from HIV/AIDS, assists orphans and other children affected by AIDS, supports grandmothers caring for orphaned grandchildren, and supports groups of people living with HIV/AIDS. More specifically, the foundation provides education and counseling about HIV prevention, care and treatment; distributes food, medication and other necessities; provides holistic home-based care for the very sick; helps children orphaned by AIDS gain access to education and cope with their grief; and support the grandmothers, who are overwhelmingly the caregivers for their orphaned grandchildren. The extent of the epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa is shocking: more than 24.5 million cases of HIV/AIDS, 76% of those newly infected between the ages of 15 and 24 are women, 2 million die of this disease a year, and there are more than 12 million orphans as a result of AIDS. The Stephen Lewis Foundation supports grassroots projects in Africa, such as co-operatives and community gardens run by grandmothers or children in areas where the parent generation is wiped out. These projects run on very small amounts of money but make a big difference to their
AFRUCA, located in the United Kingdom, “exists to see a world in which African children can live free of cruelty and abuse at the hands of others” (AFRUCA, 2015, para 3). AFRUCA was founded out of a need to respond to the problems African children face living in the UK. To combat this social problem in the United Kingdom, AFRUCA aims to raise awareness and advocate for change, to ensure children know their rights, to promote positive parenting amongst African parents, to help develop policies to keep African children safe and to develop leadership skills in young Africans (AFRUCA,
...nt to help these children other ways, you can donate to HIV-relief organizations that work in developing countries. Clearly, it is not safe for our homes, there are too many expenses for the treatment, and America is already an HIV growing country that needs to stop. Unless you want to bring HIV into your home, then do not adopt foreign children with HIV.
Everyday children’s’ needs are not met, and they are forced to suffer because they are living under the poverty line. “The United States, with the world’s largest economy, has the shameful distinction of having the second highest relative child poverty rate among 35 industrialized nations “; this is something that is affecting 1 in 5 children being born (Children’s Defense Fund, 2015). Children are not in a place that they can stand up for themselves and fight for the rights that they do not currently have. The adults that are in a position to defend them are also at a disadvantage because, statistically speaking, they probably grew up in the same environment and do not have the assistance to rise above the adversity themselves. With the governments help in passing new laws and providing resources children can be given a better chance in order to succeed as successful adults.
The AIDS epidemic has reached disastrous proportions on the continent of Africa. Over the past two decades, two thirds of the more than 16 million people in the world infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, live in sub-Saharan Africa. It is now home to the largest number of people infected, with 70 percent of the world’s HIV infected population. The problem of this ongoing human tragedy is that Africa is also the least equipped region in the world to cope with all the challenges posed by the HIV virus. In order understand the social and economic consequences of the disease, it is important to study the relationship between poverty, the global response, and the effectiveness of AIDS prevention, both government and grass roots.
Voight, Kevin. “international adoption: saving orphans or child trafficking”. Cnn news. 18 September 2013. Web. 24 march 2014. www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/world/international-adoption-saving-orphans-trafficking/.
"OSCE Special Representative Highlights Child Victims at Vienna Anti-trafficking Concert." United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking HUB. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
A country once in denial now has it’s South African political leaders addressing the disease that is slowing killing their population The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) which evolves into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is affecting South Africa socially as well as economically. This disease is also leaving over a million and a half children orphaned. Most of these children are not only orphaned but living with the virus as well.
AIDS is a disease that is transmitted easily through unprotected sexual intercourse, sharing of needles, blood transfusion, and childbirth. Without proper knowledge and equipment, it is very difficult to prevent the spread of AIDS. Ever since the illness was discovered thirty years ago, it has taken the lives of thirty million people and affected the lives of many, many more. The AIDS pandemic has been and still is most severe in third-world countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It has impacted the economies of entire nations by crippling and killing individuals in the most productive years of their lives (“HIV/AIDS”). AIDS greatly influences the government sector, agricultural sector, private corporations, and individual households. Among those impacts, the impact on households is the most significant and severe. This paper will discuss the various ways AIDS affects families and the most effective ways of solving this issue.
The emergence of HIV/AIDS is viewed globally as one of the most serious health and developmental challenges our society faces today. Being a lentivirus, HIV slowly replicates over time, attacking and wearing down the human immune system subsequently leading to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) at which point the affected individual is exposed to life threatening illnesses and eventual death. Despite the fact that a few instances of this disease have been accounted for in all parts of the world, a high rate of the aforementioned living with HIV are situated in either low or medium wage procuring nations. The Sub-Saharan region Africa is recognized as the geographic region most afflicted by the pandemic. In previous years, people living with HIV or at risk of getting infected did not have enough access to prevention, care and treatment neither were they properly sensitized about the disease. These days, awareness and accessibility to all the mentioned (preventive methods, care etc.) has risen dramatically due to several global responses to the epidemic. An estimated half of newly infected people are among those under age 25(The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic). It hits hard as it has no visible symptoms and can go a long time without being diagnosed until one is tested or before it is too late to manage.
Child labour is an issue that has plagued society since the earliest of times. Despite measures taken by NGOs as well as the UN, child labour is still a prevalent problem in today’s society. Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of a Child gives all children the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child 's education, or to be harmful to the child 's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.1 Child labour clearly violates this right as well as others found in the UDHR. When we fail to see this issue as a human rights violation children around the world are subjected to hard labour which interferes with education, reinforces