Nine-year-old Chinese orphan Juan Juan, one of the
few lucky ones who did not contract AIDS, cries as she relates about her
parents' sufferings before succumbing to the disease a year ago, at her
home in the village of Lixin. (AFP/Getty Images)
The rapid spread of the HIV infection in China is having a
devastating impact on the country's children, and threatens to become an
epidemic with significant social and public health repercussions due to the
rapid rise in AIDS orphan population. The increased number of AIDS orphans in
China parallels the increasing number of AIDS orphans worldwide, and is one of
the most serious consequences of the AIDS epidemic today.
In rural China, many villages that up to now have had very
few orphans have seen their rates soar following AIDS' deaths of their parents
as a result of blood transfusions with contaminated needles. Until recently
the remaining relatives used to take care of the children. Because in many
cases those relatives are now affected by HIV/AIDS, they have become unable to
provide basic support to children in their families. The toll on children has
become so serious that UNICEF has included new indicator related to the
prevalence of HIV/AIDS in its "child risk measure."
In 2003 it was estimated that worldwide more than 13
million children under 15 had lost one or both parents to AIDS. Although
Thailand has the largest number of AIDS orphans —usually defined as children
under 15 who have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS—their number is
increasing fast in other Asian countries.
In Cambodia, Malaysia and India, the number of AIDS orphans
has increased by 400 percent from 1994 to 1997. This rate of increase is
similar to that of countries such as Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.
Although proportionally the number of AIDS' orphans in Asia is much lower than
in Sub-Saharan Africa, in absolute numbers there are more orphans due to AIDS
in Asia than in Africa.
Orphaning is a worldwide problem. It is estimated that by
2010 106 million children will lose one or both parents, and 25 million of
them will be orphaned because of AIDS. According to estimates of China's
Ministry of Health there are at least 100,000 AIDS orphans in China. UNICEF's
China Office estimates that over the next five years 150,000 to 250,000
additional children will be orphaned by AIDS.
Since 2003, UNICEF has worked with local health authorities
and workers, the Women's Federation and communities to provide both
psychological and social support to children affected by AIDS. It has also
provided support to Summer Camps for Children Affected by AIDS, helping raise
awareness about their needs.
Children orphaned because of their parents' death by AIDS
are likely to be malnourished and unschooled, and are at greater risk of
becoming HIV-infected themselves. At the same time, because they are
emotionally vulnerable, when they grow up they may tend to engage in risky
sexual behavior that may lead to a vicious cycle of abuse and exploitation.
What makes this situation particularly worrisome is that
the number of orphans will continue to rise for at least the next decade. That
is why, even in a country where HIV prevalence has declined, the number of
orphans will continue to be high. According to Dr. Peter Piot, executive
director of UNAIDS, "The orphan crisis is a major reason for introducing
treatment for adults on a wider scale."
Orphans due to HIV/AIDS are part of a much larger problem,
since countries that have high rates of AIDS' orphans also have high number of
children directly affected by the epidemic, and who are often just as
vulnerable. Although their total number is difficult to assess, it has been
estimated that over 3 million children worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS.
It is necessary to develop a major educational campaign to
make people aware of the dangers of the infection not only to them but also
the risks it poses to their children. The majority of people in China still
don't know how HIV is transmitted. According to a survey carried out in 2004
by the Futures Group Europe and the Beijing-based Horizon Research Group, only
8.7 of Chinese knew how HIV is transmitted and 25 percent of rural residents
hadn't even heard of the infection.
To help AIDS' orphans in a more immediate and practical way
it is necessary to strengthen the capacity of extended families to protect and
care for orphan children by providing them with financial aid by local
councils or provincial governments. Orphan children's special needs should
also be addressed through community-based responses and by increasing the
capacity of local orphanages.
It is also important to support the work of Non
Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as the China AIDS Orphan Fund who have
been working in collaboration with other NGOs to improve Chinese orphans'
health, education, and quality of life.
It is important to diminish the stigma surrounding the HIV
infection. Often times, children who have lost their parents to AIDS are
assumed to be also infected with HIV, which further stigmatizes them. It is
critical to develop new government policies including legal, education and
labor frameworks, and to make sure that these policies will be followed.
Dr. César Chelala is an international
public health consultant and the author of AIDS: A Modern Epidemic, a Pan American Health Organization publication.
A report called Redefining AIDS
in Asia: Crafting an Effective Response has said that Asia was being hurt in the
fight against AIDS because of unsafe sex.
The report said 10 million women in Asia sold sex, while 75 million brought it.
Commercial sex was the main reason for widespread HIV infection followed by
shared needles and sex among men.
"Countries at the early stages of the epidemic needed to spend an average
of 50 cents per capita to reverse the epidemic,"
said C Rangarajan, chairman of the nine-member commission on AIDS. "Every
dollar spent on early prevention would save $8 in treatment costs later. Yet,
the money spent on HIV programmes from national budgets decreased over the past decade in the 23
countries surveyed, the only exceptions being India and China."
It is estimated that there are 2.5 million people infected with HIV in India.
This is over 50 percent of 4.9 million HIV population.
The report said that governments must take steps to prevent the spread of HIV
else there would be 10 million cases in Asia by 2020.
Beijing: To many Chinese, Bill Gates,
who stepped down as Microsoft's executive chairman Friday, is more than a
billionaire. For them he represents an age and a spirit.
Chinese became familiar with his name some 15 years ago when the computer
became a common household necessity.
According to an online survey at QQ.com, 48 per cent of the 218,550 votes
listed Gates' most impressive title as 'one of the world's richest' people.
In another survey by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Education last year,
the Seattle native followed late premier Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong as the most
popular name among students of 19 colleges in the capital.
He replaced idols Lei Feng, a soldier characterised as a selfless and modest
follower of Mao in 1963, and the adamant Paul Kocakin, hero of the Russian novel
"How to Melt the Steel."
"College students nowadays tend to be more realistic," said Shen
Jie, a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences research fellow.
In fact, Gates did more than tell the conservative Chinese after the country
adopted its reform and opening-up policy that 'greed is good'.
"The billionaire who topped the Forbes fortune list for 13 years mapped
out another way to succeed," said Zhao Lulu, 25, pursuing his masters in
information and communication engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Learning from Gates who dropped out of Harvard University to start his
business career, Li Wancheng, a Chongqing Technology and Business University
student, quit his college to open a shop in 2005. Later he worked as contractor
of Building Automation System.
"I want to become the Chinese Bill Gates," he said. "Each
success now could bring me a step nearer to my idol."
Shortly before his retirement, the philanthropist further impressed Chinese
with his huge donation to the quake-ravaged region in southwest China and the
announcement that his $58 billion fortune would be used for charity.
Such outlook complies with Chinese traditional values. As ancient philosopher
Mencius once said "take care of yourself if you are poor, and help others
if you are rich." And as the old aphorism goes "a legacy, good
education is better than piles of gold."
"Gates views his massive fortune as an enormous obligation. In
comparison, many Chinese millionaires believe money, a reflection of self value,
and earning money as a way to stand out and bring honour to their
ancestors," said an editorial in the Guangzhou Daily in the southern
Guangdong Province.
The move of Gates was in sharp contrast with Chinese real estate tycoon Wang
Shi.
After the deadly May 12 earthquake, which has claimed nearly 70,000 lives,
the chief executive officer of Vanke came under fire for his statement that
donations should be sustainable instead of a burden to enterprises.
He suggested that each employee of the company donate 10 yuan (some $1.5)
once. He later apologised and pledged to invest 100 million yuan to help rebuild
the quake-hit regions.
On the 2007 Hurun fortune list, the number of Chinese rich with assets
exceeding $1 billion surpassed that of Germany to become second in the world.
"We should reflect on our education for children, and help them set up a
good value system in the test of a soaring economy," said a freelancer
named Wang Yizhi on Sohu.com.
On the other hand, the writer called for favourable policies in China, such
as a tax reduction, to encourage rich people to conduct charity, transparency on
how the money was used and a monitoring system to ensure the funds were not
misappropriated.
Gates, who has visited China 10 times, disclosed his first act as a full-time
philanthropist was to the 29th Olympiad hosting country; his, Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation would promote several health programs, including HIV/AIDS
prevention and an anti-smoking campaign.
Maybe the Chinese people look for more than that: Bill Gates' spirit as well.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush
urged Congress on Wednesday to approve funds to fight AIDS in Africa and other
countries, and said the issue was high on his agenda for a Group of Eight summit
in Japan next week.
Members of the U.S. Senate sought last week to pass legislation to more than
triple funds to fight AIDS, but some Republicans vowed to block it because of
its cost.
The House of Representatives has approved its version of the measure which
proposes $50 billion in U.S. funds over five years to fight AIDS, tuberculosis
and malaria.
"It's very important that Congress reauthorize this plan," Bush
said to reporters ahead of the trip to the July 7-9 G8 summit.
Bush, who has been praised for leading efforts on funding for fighting AIDS
in the developing world, said he would press G8 countries as well.
"One of my really important agenda items is going to ... rally our
partners to make commitments and meet commitments," Bush said.
"We'll also discuss additional steps to confront some other challenges,
such as the need to train health care workers in G8 partners countries in
Africa," Bush said.
Bush's President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief or PEPFAR is supplying HIV
drugs to 1.73 million people worldwide, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.
The program, which also includes Vietnam and Haiti, is considered one of
Bush's foreign policy successes.
More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since it was first recognized
more than a quarter century ago. About 33 million people are infected with HIV,
mostly in sub-Saharan Africa where it is spread primarily through heterosexual
sex.
(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Maggie Fox and David Wiessler)
By SAM DOLNICK,Associated Press Writer AP - Monday,
June 30
NEW DELHI - Men wore sparkling saris, women wore rainbow
boas and hundreds of people chanted for gay rights in three Indian cities
Sunday in the largest display of gay pride in the deeply conservative
country where homosexual acts are illegal.
Gay rights supporters took to the streets of Calcutta, Bangalore and
New Delhi to call for an end to discrimination and push for acceptance in
a society where intolerance is widespread.
"This is a national coming-out party," Alok Gupta, a lawyer
from Mumbai, said as he stood among several hundred activists in New
Delhi. "This is a simple thing: We are seeking the right to
love."
While small groups have marched in the eastern city of Calcutta in
recent years, Sunday's events were the first gay pride parades in
Bangalore and New Delhi. Several hundred people turned out at each of the
three events.
The marches came days before the Delhi High Court is expected to hear
arguments on overturning a law against homosexual sex that dates to the
British colonial era. The law, which forbids sexual acts "against the
order of nature," carries punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
The law is rarely enforced, but activists say it sanctions
discrimination.
"Discrimination is widespread because there is no protection or
law or societal understanding," said Lesley Esteves, 32, a gay rights
activist who helped organize the New Delhi parade. "There's
discrimination in the workplace; there's discrimination in the family _
it's on every level."
Despite the festive mood Sunday, fear of discrimination was evident
among the crowds in New Delhi. Many of the marchers wore rainbow-colored
masks so their friends and families wouldn't know they were gay. Many
others declined to speak to journalists.
Some, however, were happy to announce themselves and their sexuality to
the public.
"I want people to see us, to talk to us, to become acquainted with
who we are and how we feel," said Kangan Ratra, a lesbian in New
Delhi. "The first step is to see us. The next step is to understand
us."
Between the rainbow scarves and feathered crowns, marchers waved signs
calling for a repeal of the law banning gay sex and banners with slogans
like, "Hetero-Homo Bhai-Bhai," which means gays and straights
are brothers.
The protests in all three cities were peaceful, though the number of
police and journalists likely matched that of the marchers.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, a senior leader of India's main Hindu nationalist
party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, said he opposed the gay activists'
march and called homosexuality "unnatural."
"I don't think it will be accepted in our country. Most of the
people are traditional people, religious people, and it will not be
accepted in Indian culture," Naqvi said.
Naqvi said BJP supporters did not protest the march because "we
are not going to give importance to such behavior."
Still, there are signs that homosexuality is becoming more accepted in
India, at least in big cities. In New Delhi, gay and lesbian groups hold
biweekly movie screenings and parties, and organizers say attendance is
rising. Newspaper editorials have called for revisions to the law, and
prominent writers and activists have signed petitions expressing their
support.
Activists say marginalizing gay people is also a serious health concern
because it drives them underground and makes them more likely to engage in
unsafe sex.
More than 5 percent of gay men are infected with HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS, compared to 0.36 percent of the general population, according
to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Health. An estimated 2.5 million
people in India are infected with HIV.
South African AIDS
patients in Durban are under siege from drug addicts who rob them of their
antiretroviral treatment to get high, the provincial health department said
Wednesday.
The life prolonging drug Stocrin, one of the antiretroviral drugs used to
fight AIDS, is reportedly crushed and mixed with marijuana and sold in the
townships around the coastal city.
The health department has warned that the trend could spark shortages in
the city's hospitals and health centres, in one of the provinces worst
afflicted by the AIDS pandemic.
"This practice is disturbing, a large number of HIV patients depend
on the state sponsored treatment to stay healthy," spokesman Leon
Mbangwa told AFP.
The department dismissed media reports that health workers at certain
hospitals were involved in selling HIV drugs to criminal rings, who then
target patients when nurses cannot keep up with the demand.
"All medication is kept in the hospital pharmacy and only certain
levels of nurses have access to it," said Mbangwa.
Patients collecting medication at the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital
in Umlazi, south of Durban have complained of being ambushed by criminals on
their way home.
Others have had their home ransacked by thugs looking for the lifesaving
drugs.
"The concoction of Stocrin and dagga (marijuana) is very dangerous
and eventually leads to death. The drug mixture breaks down the immune
system and reduces the resistance of the body," said Anwar Jeewa,
director of the Minds Alive rehabilitation centre.
South Africa has the highest number of HIV sufferers in the world with
around 5.5 million of the 47 million population affected by the virus, and
the world's biggest ARV programme with more than 478,000 people registered
for treatment.
Reuters
and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any
external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
MANICA, 2 July 2008 - Zimbabwean Khuda Mutchato has to
regularly cross a chain of mountains into Mozambique to improve her chances of survival.
After she was widowed
in 2006, the 27 year old went to live with her deceased husband's relatives in
Manicaland province, near Zimbabwe's border with Mozambique, but they began to mistreat her when they
learned she was HIV-positive.
"I was
experiencing unbelievable discrimination. I was even thrown out into the street.
They were scared of me because I was sick. They wouldn't touch me or cook for me
anymore," Mutchato told IRIN/PlusNews.
Outside of the house,
the situation was no better: Zimbabwe's economic crisis and out-of-control
inflation made it difficult to obtain scarce food and antiretroviral (ARV)
medication. Mutchato could only see one solution.
"I decided to
risk the dangers of crossing the mountains at night and evading the border
guards to get into Mozambique and obtain antiretrovirals."
Although there are no
official figures, it is estimated that more than 100 Zimbabweans are getting ARV
treatment in the province of Manica, in central Mozambique.
Mutchato is one of
them. She crosses the border to get her medication and then returns to Zimbabwe, where only about 100,000 of the
estimated 321,000 people in need of ARVs are receiving them through the public
health sector.
"I feel much
better now, different from how I felt before I started taking the
medication," said Mutchato, who now stays at the home of a childhood friend
in the Darlington neighbourhood of Mutare, Zimbabwe's eastern border town.
"There is an
exodus of Zimbabweans who come in search of AIDS treatment in Mozambique, because our government makes the drugs
available free of charge," confirmed Aarão Uaquiço, Manica's HIV/AIDS
coordinator.
"Although
they're foreigners, we attend to all patients who come to us without
discrimination as to their origin," said Inga Nicole, the head physician in
the district.
Expansion of
treatment
At a cost to the
Mozambican government of US$50 per person per year, about 100,000 HIV-positive
patients are currently getting free ARV treatment in the country, compared to
7,000 in 2005.
With an HIV
prevalence of 23 percent, Manica district, in the province with the same name,
is one of Mozambique's most affected areas.
This is partly a
result of its location on a corridor that connects Mozambique to Zimbabwe, Malawi and Botswana - countries with infection rates that are
among the highest in the world.
Health authorities in
the district have sought to respond by expanding treatment services.
In May, the district
opened four new satellite health clinics to make it easier for rural communities
to access HIV testing and treatment services, without having to travel long
distances to the Manica district hospital.
"It's very bad
for the chronically ill to have to travel dozens of kilometres to get to
treatment services or to pick up their medication," said Nicole. "This
way, we'll be able to attend to more people who need treatment."
Crossing the border
The expansion of
services is attracting ever greater numbers of Zimbabweans who live in the areas
surrounding Mutare. The nearest of the new clinics on the Mozambican side of the
border where ARVs are available is in Machipanda which is only 10 kilometres
away.
According to
migration statistics, the number of Zimbabweans crossing into Mozambique has been increasing since Zimbabwe and Mozambique waived visa requirements for each other's
citizens starting in October of 2007.
Entry visas allow for
stays of up to 30 days, but of the estimated 400 Zimbabweans who enter Mozambique every day, only about 85 percent return.
According to Alberto
Limeme, chief of the Machipanda border post, by May of this year, more than
60,000 Zimbabweans had legally crossed into Manica, compared to fewer than 1,000
entries during the same period in 2007.
How many Zimbabweans
cross the 500 kilometre-long border shared by Manica and Mutare is more
difficult to determine. One of the longest borders in the region, it is
controlled by just 60 guards, who often carry out their patrols on foot.
Lack of medical
personnel
Manica district
currently has 10 people with specialised training in ARV treatment, only two of
whom are physicians. Meanwhile, in the Manica district hospital alone, more than
80 people seek ARV treatment every day, including about 10 children.
Despite the demand on
under-staffed health services, local authorities say they will provide ARVs to
everyone who needs them in this part of Manica.
"We know that
the arrival of the Zimbabweans places pressure on health services and on the
economy, but we guarantee that there will never be a shortage of medication for
anyone," said Uaquiço.
NEW DELHI, June 30
(Reuters) - A strong political will was stimulating India's fight against AIDS,
raising hopes of controlling its spread in the country with the world's
third-largest caseload, the U.N.'s AIDS agency said on Monday.
Politicians were
helping generate awareness among people, lobbying for HIV-related legislation
and pushing for more resources to fight the deadly virus, the U.N. agency UNAIDS
said in a report released by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The agency's India head told Reuters politicians were taking
a lot of responsibility and reaching out to people in remotest of areas.
"India has managed to slow down the epidemic in
some states with more decisive planning," Denis Broun said.
"We have really
worked a lot in mobilising politicians and they have been able to visit around
the country and understand the realities of AIDS and interact with people."
Such efforts were
bearing fruits in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra in the west.
"Cases are
dropping in Tamil Nadu and it has been successful in Maharastra. We are sure we
are going to see success in Andhra Pradesh before a year," Broun said.
India accounts for roughly half the estimated HIV infected population in Asia with 2.47 million cases.
The report said
nearly five million people are infected with HIV in Asia now.
Presently 440,000
people die annually, a figure expected to rise to almost 500,000 by 2020 if
suitable measures were not taken, said the report titled "Redefining AIDS
in Asia - Crafting an Effective Response".
India was thought to have the world's biggest HIV-positive caseload with 5.7
million infections, but a new U.N.-backed estimate released last year almost
halved that number after a new survey based on population rather than specific
groups.
But the report warned
that India must be extremely careful as people were
still ignorant about use of condoms and AIDS, especially among drug users and
women in rural India.
It said there were
other challenges ahead such as effective sex education and strategic planning.
A study among young
brides in the northern Uttar Pradesh state found that 71 percent knew nothing
about how sex happens and 83 percent did not know about pregnancy, the report
added. (Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee)
Beijing: To many Chinese, Bill Gates,
who stepped down as Microsoft's executive chairman Friday, is more than a
billionaire. For them he represents an age and a spirit.