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[1 December 2006] - To commemorate World AIDS Day, Casa Alianza UK is launching a global campaign to raise the profile of issues surrounding street children and HIV/AIDS. Street children are widely recognised as being in one of the populations most at risk to HIV/AIDS. In Central America there is a disturbingly high incidence of child sexual exploitation and many other children fall victim to HIV/AIDS via drugs - used as a means to escape the bleak existence of living on the streets. Others have no choice but to resort to prostitution in order to survive. Sadly many national governments fail to make even the most basic provision for the treatment of street children with HIV/AIDS. Street kids are often routinely denied access to basic health care altogether. What Casa Alianza is doing Casa Alianza's LUNA HIV/AIDS programme in Mexico City has become well established thanks to support from the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Over the last year Casa Alianza have provided direct assistance to over 800 children in our residential programmes, 3,359 children on the streets and their free HIV/AIDS telephone help line provided confidential counselling to 4,517 children and youths. Casa Alianza's dream is to provide this level of support to all their programmes. To find out what you can do to help, go to Casa Alianza's website
Casa Alianza's first programme for street children with HIV/AIDS began over 10 years ago in Mexico City and parts of the programme have been extended to each of their other programmes in Central America. They offer a wide range of specialised integrated services to street children and children at risk that include education, prevention, counselling, treatment and care for children with full-blown AIDS