Children are often considered the missing face of the AIDS/HIV

Missing faces

Children are often considered the missing face of the AIDS/HIV epidemic. In 2005, Unicef, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other partners launched Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS to focus attention and resources on mitigating the worst effects of HIV and AIDS on children and young people. The Unite for Children report ( ‘School attendance is a protective factor against HIV especially for vulnerable girls, and an effective platform in which to raise HIV-related knowledge, attitudes and skills, contributing to overall behaviour change.’

But young people with HIV/AIDS are often not accepted into schools and are treated badly. That’s because of certain misconceptions. Some examples: people believe they can become infected simply by looking at an HIV-positive person; that the disease spreads through touch, so if they sit on a chair used by an HIV-positive person they will be infected; that all HIV-positive people die quickly; that they are stupid and can’t be taught anything.

But you know better don’t you? Tell people what the World Health Organisation (WHO) wants everyone to know: that HIV can be controlled through medicines, though we don’t have a vaccine or permanent cure for it; that people do die, but not necessarily the very next day or week; that it spreads through the exchange of body fluids, infected blood, and dirty needles, not through things, or by touch; that people infected with HIV need love like everyone else, so hugging them is good for all involved; that an infected person’s body may be sick but his mind is okay (if they can’t add, it’s probably because they don’t like math!). Understand what AIDS is all about so that you become better acquainted with the complications associated with it.