Protecting the parents
Given the high numbers, priority should now be given to providing surviving parents with free anti-retroviral drugs, says a Unicef representative.
Increasing the availability of anti-retroviral therapy and giving priority enrolment in free anti-retroviral (ARV) programmes to surviving parents would provide a “stronger and more forward-looking response” to the needs of all children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS, explains Martin Mogwanja, Unicef’s representative in Uganda.
“The availability of free anti-retrovirals in Uganda now provides an unprecedented opportunity to assure the survival of at least one parent who can remain alive to provide love and care for that child,” he adds. “Priority enrolment for these surviving parents must become embedded as policy in all anti-retroviral programmes.”
Family capacity -- whether the head of the household is a widowed parent, an elderly grandparent or a young person -- represents the single most important factor in building a protective environment for children who have lost their parents, the report’s authors stress.
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