Uganda AIDS OrphansThe War of Uganda AIDS Orphans is a War Without End Uganda AIDS orphans are overwhelming to the extent that everybody is concerned about the future of these kids without parents. In Uganda, the incidence of HIV / AIDS is just over 7% of the adult population. Over 1,000,000 children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. It is estimated that every year 14,000 children die as a result of AIDS and that every day 40 children are infected. If you interested in helping the situation in the Uganda you might like to consider how to sponsor a child in Uganda.
• Children whose parents are living with HIV often experience many negative changes in their lives and can start to suffer neglect, including emotional neglect, long before they are orphaned. Eventually, they suffer the death of their parent(s) and the emotional trauma that results. They may then have to adjust to a new situation, with little or no support, and may suffer exploitation and abuse. • In one study carried out in rural Uganda, high levels of psychological distress were found in children who had been orphaned by AIDS. Anxiety, depression and anger were more found to be more common among Uganda AIDS orphans than other children. 12% of AIDS orphans affirmed that they wished they were dead, compared to 3% of other children interviewed. • These psychological problems can become more severe if a child is forced to separate from their siblings upon becoming orphaned. In some regions this occurs regularly: a survey in some rural areas showed that 56% of Uganda AIDS Orphaned children no longer lived with all of their siblings.
A member of the community takes care of children orphaned by AIDS, • The loss of a parent to AIDS can have serious consequences for a child’s access to basic necessities such as shelter, food, clothing, health and education.Uganda AIDS Orphans are more likely than non-orphans to live in large, female-headed households where more people are dependent on fewer income earners. • This lack of income puts extra pressure on AIDS orphans to contribute financially to the household, in some cases driving them to the streets to work, beg or seek food. • The majority of children who have lost a parent continue to live in the care of a surviving parent or family member, but often have to take on the responsibility of doing the housework, looking after siblings and caring for ill or dying parent(s). Children who have lost one parent to AIDS are often at risk of losing the other parent as well, since HIV may have been transmitted between the couple through sex.
• Children orphaned by AIDS may miss out on school enrollment, have their schooling interrupted or perform poorly in school as a result of their situation. Expenses such as school fees and school uniforms present major barriers, since many orphans’ caregivers cannot afford these costs. • Extended families sometimes see school fees as a major factor in deciding not to take on additional children orphaned by AIDS. AIDS orphans may also leave school to attend to ill family members, work or to look after young siblings. Even before the death of a parent, children may miss out on educational opportunities; research in Uganda suggests that children of HIV-positive parents are significantly less likely to attend school than other children. • Outside of school,Uganda AIDS orphans may also miss out on valuable life-skills and practical knowledge that would have been passed on to them by their parents. Without this knowledge and a basic school education, children may be more likely to face social, economic and health problems as they grow up. Children grieving for dying or dead parents are often stigmatised by society through association with AIDS. The distress and social isolation experienced by these children, both before and after the death of their parent(s), is strongly exacerbated by the shame, fear, and rejection that often surrounds people affected by HIV and AIDS. Because of this stigma, children may be denied access to schooling and health care. Once a parent dies children may also be denied their inheritance and property. Often children who have lost their parents to AIDS are assumed to be HIV positive themselves, adding to the likelihood that they will face discrimination and damaging their future prospects. In this situation children may also be denied access to health care that they need. Sometimes this occurs because it is assumed that they are infected with HIV and their illnesses are untreatable. • In African countries that have already suffered long, severe epidemics, AIDS is generating orphans so quickly that family structures can no longer cope. Traditional safety nets are unravelling as increasing numbers of adults die from HIV-related illnesses. • Families and communities can barely fend for themselves, let alone take care of orphans. Typically, half of all people with HIV become infected before they are aged 25, developing AIDS and dying by the time they are 35, leaving behind a generation of children to be raised by their grandparents, other adult relatives or left on their own in child-headed households. • Traditional systems of taking care of children who lose their parents, for whatever reason, have been in place throughout Uganda for generations. But HIV and AIDS are eroding such practices by creating larger numbers of orphans than have ever been known before. The demand for care and support is simply overwhelming in many areas. HIV reduces the caring capacity of families and communities by deepening poverty, through medical and funeral.
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