[AIDS is probably worse than the quoted figures show. African governments are very sensitive about the subject. Jan]

Johannesburg – Aids is devastating Mozambique and leaving more and more children infected or affected, the United Nations children’s fund said on Tuesday.

“More than one million children and young people under the age of 18 are either living with the virus themselves, are caring for parents or other close family members suffering from Aids-related diseases, or have already lost one or both parents to the pandemic,” said Unicef’s Leila Pakkala on the eve of the celebrations of the Day of the African Child on June 16.

According to the statement by the United Nations body, received in Johannesburg, Mozambique has become one of the countries most affected by the pandemic.

According to estimates of the National Statistics Institute (INE), the prevalence rate among 15 to 49 years old now stands at 15.6 percent compared to 8.2 percent in 1998.

On average, about 500 new infections occur every day, 90 of them among young children through mother-to-child transmission.

Children born with HIV/Aids have a very limited life perspective in Mozambique. Half of them die during their first year and 50 percent of the remainder do not survive until their second birthday.

Aids is emerging as an important underlying cause of illness and death among children in Mozambique.

In 2004, out of 97 000 people who died from AIDS-related diseases, 17 500 were children under five years of age.

This contributes to Mozambique having one of the highest child mortality rates in the world with 178 children out of 1 000 dying before they reach the age of five years.

There are very few children living with HIV/Aids who survive until they are 10 years old. Hence, the prevalence rate in the age group 10-14 is close to zero.

The total number of children under five living with HIV/Aids is estimated to be 73 000 compared to 91 000 of children under age 15.

The prevalence rate rises dramatically among adolescents who have started sexual relationships, since this is the main mode of transmission in Mozambique.

Almost 130 000 young people aged 15 to 19 are estimated to be living with HIV or Aids.

Girls are particularly vulnerable – almost 100 000 of those living with HIV/Aids in this age group are girls.

Among adults, it is estimated that Aids accounts for almost 25 percent of all deaths recorded.

This has led to an orphan crisis of alarming dimensions.

According to the study “Demographic Impact of HIV/Aids in Mozambique” published by INE, the Ministry of Health, the National Aids Council and other partners, more than 325 000 children and young people under the age of 18 will have lost their mother, father or both parents to Aids by the end of this year.

Traditionally, orphaned children have been absorbed into extended family networks.

But HIV/Aids is now placing greater stress on the already overburdened safety nets at community and family levels. Hence orphans are becoming increasingly vulnerable and less likely to have access to social services.

Children usually become much more vulnerable when their parents fall sick, because they have to take on the responsibility for making ends meet.

There is no official information on children living with parents or other care-givers who are suffering from Aids-related diseases.

But it can be estimated that their number reaches more than 500 000, taking into account the number of people who need anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment, Unicef said.

“The HIV/Aids pandemic has a tremendous destructive effect on the lives of Mozambican children and young people – a fact that is still widely under-estimated.

“It is imperative that we rapidly scale up all prevention, treatment, care and support programmes for children and young people. Not only to curb the spread of the pandemic, but to further reduce the detrimental impact that Aids is having on an entire generation of children. We must act now,” said Pakkala. – Sapa

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>