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Africa: New 5-Nation Project for Homes Affected By HIV/Aids
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Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
20 May 2008
Posted to the web 20 May 2008
Nairobi
Older people, orphans and vulnerable children living in multigenerational households affected by HIV/AIDS are the target of a new project in five Southern and Eastern African nations.
The 5-year project will be implemented by HelpAge International in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. It is funded by Big Lottery Fund.
HelpAGe said in a statement on Monday that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a significant impact on multigenerational households as the middle generation of adults are either no longer alive or are themselves in need of care.
In hardest hit communities, older people care for over half of orphans and vulnerable children and up to 40 per cent of people living with HIV/AIDS. The new project aims at addressing the impact of this new family dynamic and mitigating the spread of the pandemic.
Older people face significant challenges in their care-giving role. Written information and advice on HIV/AIDS is often difficult to access; it is rarely translated into tribal languages and literacy levels among older people are low, HelpAge said.
The aged also struggle to access medicines and health services due to long distances, transport costs and user fees. Financially, the loss of income provided by the middle generation puts a significant strain on older people; most multigenerational households affected by HIV and AIDS live on less than one US dollar a day.
For children in multigenerational households, accessing primary education is difficult where costs of school fees, uniforms and materials are high or where they are needed at home to help their grandparents on the land. Many children also face pressure to leave school to find work to support the family.
Leonida, 84, from Kenya, had four children who died of AIDS. She now cares for five grandchildren, and does not yet know if any of them have HIV. "At the moment every day is a struggle to get by. Four of the children go to school, where they sometimes get fed, and neighbours come by to give me food sometimes, but I really don't know where our next meal will come from, or whether I am going to have enough strength soon to care for these little ones."
"It is a lot of work and there is nobody to help us. If they get sick I sometimes manage to find some money to buy paracetamol - but nothing else. I can't afford to take them to the doctor."
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Michael Etherton, Acting HelpAge International Regional Representative for Africa, says although multigenerational households are common in Africa, older people taking on a caring role has become a distinctive characteristic of the AIDS pandemic. "Multigenerational households affected by HIV/AIDS need support in coping with this new family dynamic."
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