Orphans
in Peril
One child in Southern Africa becomes
a victim of the AIDS virus every fourteen seconds:
they become an orphan. Over ten million children are orphans in Southern
Africa, directly as a result of the AIDS virus. If the current trend
does not slow down, this number will more than double by 2010. UNAIDS
defines
an AIDS orphan as a child who has lost their mother to AIDS before age
15. 
The
statistics presented do not include children who have lost only their father,
or children who are aged 15-18. The Convention
on the Rights of the Child states that all human beings under the age
of 18 are considered children. The Convention
on the Rights of the Child also upholds the standards that children
are to be treated by. All countries that ratify the Convention are
bound by treaty to protect their children from every potential harm listed
throughout the convention. Only two countries have not ratified
the Convention, the United States of America and Somalia. All countries
in sub-Saharan Africa have ratified this convention and are therefore responsible
for protecting their children. Article 20:1 states: "A child temporarily
or permanently deprived of his or her family environment, or in whose own
best interests cannot be allowed to remain in that environment, shall be
entitled to special protection and assistance provided by the State."(Convention
on the Rights of the Child) This statement alone filters responsibility
for orphaned children on the state. In southern Africa, the AIDS
virus is so rampant that states often do not know where to begin the relief
effort, and many times do not have the resources needed to adequately combat
the virus.
A second major problem that AIDS orphans encounter is that once orphaned,
they are at severe risk for sexual abuse or exploitation. There is
a myth circulating throughout southern Africa that if a man who is infected
with HIV/AIDS sleeps with a virgin girl, he will become cured of his disease.
Children are also at great risk of being sold into a trafficking ring,
or being convinced that prostitution will support their family. Article
34 states that all children shall be protected from sexual abuse and exploitation.
The cases of children who are sexually mistreated are all over the news.
Why isn’t anyone taking action?
A third obstacle standing in
the way of an orphan’s normal development pattern is access to adequate
health care. Over 85% of AIDS orphans are suspected to test positive
for the virus. However, being positive for HIV/AIDS is not the only
problem these children have. AIDS orphans also suffer from psychosocial
distress, malnutrition, and lack of immunizations, starvation, and increased
exposure to HIV/AIDS and STDs.(Human
Rights Internet) Article 24, part 1 of the Convention says “States
parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness
and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that
no child is deprived of his or her right of access to such health care
services.”
Although the serious problems
facing orphans are too numerous to list, the fourth and perhaps most major
problem is the fact still remains that these children have lost one or
more parents. The psychological and emotional damage on these children
is monstrous and unimaginable. Article 39 of the Convention states
that all appropriate measures shall be taken to ensure physical and psychological
recovery of a child. Such recovery shall take place in an environment
that fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child. In
southern Africa, there are no such places for these children to go.
Recovery from such losses does not even begin to adequately describe the
needs of these children.
AIDS orphans are a lost generation,
wandering around in the darkness. These are children, able to be
helped and rescued. It would be a crime to allow these children to
continue living their lives as they have been.
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