Children with HIV are now affected by a second pandemic - Covid 19. Our HIV-positive Women's Association provides essential care. Many are traumatised by loss of one or both parents to HIV/AIDS and by the knowledge that they carry a life-threatening virus and are now exposed to another. They need counselling and support to cope with the medical, social and psychological impact of HIV combined with all the usual teenage concerns. We support 950 vulnerable children living with HIV in south India.
Government HIV treatment services and counselling are curtailed by coronavirus and lock-downs. 80% of children with HIV are now adolescent, but guardians are still reluctant to talk to them about their HIV status and its implications, leading to misinformation and confusion. These children suffer neglect, discrimination, and psychological stress, leading to low self-esteem, depression, school refusal, irregular treatment, suicidal thoughts and inappropriate decisions regarding sex and marriage.
Our volunteers assist government services by providing emergency support to the most vulnerable children in this pandemic and lock-down. We help guardians to counsel their wards on HIV facts, regular tablet taking and a healthy lifestyle. We resolve individual problems - medical or psychological - and we address discrimination, family conflict, and return to education. We prepare older adolescents for adult life and discuss puberty, sexuality, relationships, safer sex and marriage plans.
We will guide this last generation of children living with HIV to increase their chances of growing up normally to have a long and productive adult life, married and with healthy children. We will give priority to the adolescent girls and young women since they have more complex needs. This generation will become role models, will not infect others and will be able to advise their peers on life with HIV and HIV prevention. In short, the project contributes to an HIV, Aids and Covid free future.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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