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Did you know that more than 40 million people are currently infected with HIV? And that more than 13 million children have been orphaned by AIDS? Africa is home to more than 26 million people living with HIV/AIDS.
In 2004 there were 4.9 million new infections of HIV and 640,000 of them were children under the age of 15 years. There were also 3.1 million AIDS related deaths and 2.2 million children living with HIV/AIDS.
Back in 1990, 930,000 children under the age of 15 had been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and by the end of 2003 that number had reached 13,400,000. By 2010 there will be 25,000,000 children orphaned by AIDS.
This is untold story of the horror of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We may often think of the adults who develop HIV/AIDS and then die – but do we ever pause for thought of the trauma that this causes to children, who are left without mums and dads – and how do they cope?
In poor countries, six million people with HIV/AIDS need antiretroviral treatment immediately to help them.
Today only about 400,000 people receive this antiretroviral treatment – less than 8% of those in need. And only about 1% of Africans living with HIV/AIDS are receiving anti-AIDS drugs. This is just not good enough!
Globally, 95% of people living with HIV/AIDS (now more than 40 million) have no access to life-prolonging treatments that have cut the AIDS death rates so dramatically in Western Europe, North America and in the other countries that have made them available.
"Increased access to comprehensive HIV care and support, including antiretroviral medicines and treatment for HIV-related opportunistic infections, is a global priority. As drug prices drop and health systems improve, significant progress is being made in these areas. But treatment and care are not yet reaching the vast majority of people in need.” (UNAIDS, December 2003)
Treatment is a basic right and it is an essential part of the strategy to defeat the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Treatment allows people living with HIV/AIDS to protect their health, raise their children, and continue to live productive lives. We need to ensure that more people receive treatment.
I hope that this piece hasn’t totally depressed you? I was surprised at the extent of the problem in just doing the research for this piece, and maybe even more surprised at how little media coverage the issue of HIV/AIDS and of the subsequent orphans attracts at the moment. It is a global catastrophe!
But don’t just sit there – do something!
For more information you can visit the STOP AIDS campaign
http://www.stopaidscampaign.org.uk/
or you could think about giving a donation to World Vision UK (01908 841000) or Christian Aid (020 7620 4444) to help fund their work tackling HIV/AIDS.
(The source material for this article was taken from World Vision UK, STOP AIDS campaign, UNAIDS, and the World Health Organisation 2004).
Copyright Jonathan Ellis
Kemi Akinruli, The Diocesan Social Responsibity Officer is working on getting a group together to work on the problem of HIV/AIDS in our Diocese...more