Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: Terre des Hommes calls on rich nations to stop this crime against humanity and to meet the goals they have set for themselves in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
HIV/AIDS has become a world pandemic threatening social and economic stability in the most affected areas, and spreading rapidly into new regions. More than 2 million children live with HIV/AIDS; the number of children orphaned by the disease (having lost one or both parents) has already reached 15 million and is growing rapidly. Every day there are nearly 1’800 new HIV infections in children under 15, and 1’400 children under 15 die of AIDS-related illness. Less than 10 per-cent of pregnant women are being offered services to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS to their infants, and less than 10-per cent of the children who have been orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS receive public support or services. Millions of children, adolescents and young people in the path of the pandemic are at risk and in need of protection. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is depriving children of many of their fundamental rights, and is undermining years of progress in human development as never before. Terre des Hommes calls for urgent measures to allow children to benefit from stable, affectionate family and community-based care and support. In close co-operation with the Regional Psycho Social Initiative / REPSSI, Terre des Hommes Switzerland is providing assistance to strengthen the capacities of children affected by HIV/AIDS to cope with their situation (e.g. the loss of a family member), and help to build the self esteem and resilience of these children in an environment of stigmatisation. Terre des Hommes Switzerland is a founding member of REPSSI, a regional programme networking with more than 40 institutions in Eastern and Southern Africa, the region in which the pandemic has had the highest impact. Terre des Hommes calls for the mobilisation of governments and civil society to enable families and communities to provide for the psycho-social well-being of children affected by HIV/AIDS, poverty and violence.