Week of the African Child (WOAC)

The Africa Project presents the Week of the African Child
World AIDS Day - December 1st to December 8th

World AIDS Day started on December 1, 1988, in order to raise money, increase awareness, combat prejudice and stigma, and promote education. Today, World AIDS Day is important because it reminds us that HIV has not gone away and that there is more to be done. According to UNAIDS estimates, 33.3 million people are living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2009 some 2.6 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 1.8 million people died from AIDS. The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

Highest Rates of HIV/AIDS are in Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 22.5 million people are living with HIV in the region, around two thirds of the global total. In 2009 around 1.3 million people died from AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and 1.8 million people became infected with HIV. Since the beginning of the epidemic 14.8 million children have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. South Africa is hardest hit, with an estimated 5.6 million people living with HIV and AIDS, more than in any other country. In 2009, an estimated 310,000 South Africans died of AIDS. Prevalence is 17.8 percent among those aged 15-49, with some age groups being particularly affected. Almost one-in-three women aged 25-29, and over a quarter of men aged 30-34, are living with HIV.

African Children Are Greatly Affected

The Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) efforts in Africa are helping to reduce the number of children born with HIV. Still,

Children born HIV negative are still severely affected by HIV when one or more parents or caregivers is positive. In these cases, the burden falls heavily on children who often become the caregivers of their sick parent(s), other relatives and siblings. Far too many become orphans and the burden of care for their siblings and themselves continue. Most do not have basic resources including adequate food, safe shelter, resources needed for schooling, or access to health care. These children are also particularly vulnerable to exploitation and violence.

The Consequences of HIV/AIDS in Africa are Widely Felt

The social and economic consequences of the AIDS epidemic are widely felt, not only in the health sector but also in education, industry, agriculture, transport, human resources and the economy in general. The AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa continues to devastate communities, rolling back decades of development progress. Sub-Saharan Africa faces a triple challenge:

  1. Providing health care, antiretroviral treatment, and support to a growing population of people with HIV-related illnesses.
  2. Reducing the annual toll of new HIV infections by enabling individuals to protect themselves and others.
  3. Coping with the impact of millions of AIDS deaths on orphans and other survivors, communities, and national development.

Morning Silence

In a land of noises
Busisiwe wakes to silence
the air in the round hut
still, she pulls open her eyelids
heavy as full buckets of water
this morning after another night
of sounds creeping in the brush
danger always present
slicing through the tall grass
to the uncertain rhythm
of Umama’s ragged breath.
A crow calls, and another,
in the silence that fills Busisiwe’s
throat, her chest, her empty
stomach. A woman at twelve
she must care for her small
brother and tiny sister,
a bath today and fix brother’s
sandal so she doesn’t
have to walk alone for water.
And Umama, she must care for Umama.

But the silence. Brother whimpers
and stirs, at six he can build
a fire outside the doorway
to warm the stones to keep
Mma warm. Even on warm
days she’s cold now, even with
the children’s clothes piled on top.
There’s only one cupful of meal
left to last four days, and baby sister’s
always hungry, not old enough
to be used to emptiness like
Busisiwe. She’ll have to
use it carefully. She tries not
to hear the silence.
Brother sits straight up
eyes wide in his dream
darkened face. It’s the silence.
Busisiwe moves to hold him, they
stare at Umama, so silent
so still now. Baby sister crawls over
and they cry to drown the silence.

By Peggy Goetz, Africa Unfinished