Carol Natukunda
6 April 2008
Kampala — A BOY, no older than 14, addresses a conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala. He moves with poise as he tries to inspire participants, most of them much older than him, to believe in children.
They listen with rapt attention. Perhaps it is because of the pain with which this young boy speaks-asking the audience why children living with HIV do not have access to treatment as much as adults and why they have been left out of efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS scourge.
"I feel respected and happy when I am consulted, because I know the decisions made will have my views," the boy says, as silence fills the hall.
But would it make a difference if he were involved? Would children like him have access to treatment?
This was the question hundreds of participants were trying to answer during the National HIV/AIDS children's pre-conference on March 26.
The conference, organised by World Vision Uganda was under the theme 'Meaningful child participation: Evidence from the field.'
Over 100 children from various schools participated along with adults in trying to forge a way forward for children living with HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Dirk Buyse, the UNICEF chief children and AIDS specialist regretted that while the country had approximately 150,000 children living with HIV, fewer than 10,000 had access to treatment.
Buyse wondered why the number of children on treatment was not matching that of the adults. "All over the world, adults are making strides. But what is available to them has not been available to children," Buyse observed.
So how would children be involved in making a difference in their own situation?
The children felt they should be given a chance to advise the Government.
"We need to talk to the Government directly. ARVs for children should be made available free of charge," said Joseph Kwesiga, a Primary Seven pupil of SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Kakiri.
An 11-year- old girl said parents should be honest with their children.
"Parents feel ashamed; they don't tell you anything. Even when they do, they lie to you that you are swallowing tablets for headache.
So you end up throwing them away, because you don't feel any headache," she explained. But some adults felt that it was a challenge to encourage children to open up about their status, let alone accept themselves.
In spite of these challenges, participants felt more should be done to involve children.
Francis Obutu, the programme coordinator of Health Alert Uganda said: "When that inquisitiveness starts, its better you explain to the children than hide away. Tell them why they are taking the drugs."
Assistant commissioner for youth and children in the ministry of labour Kyateka Mondo noted that some countries had junior parliaments, which are a platform for the children to air their views.
"Maybe we could have the same thing here for the children," he suggested.
At the end of the conference, everybody agreed that children should be involved in finding solutions to their problems.
"Shout, raise your voice that 'we want free HIV medicine and treatment,'" Mondo said amid applause.
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