Day Twenty-Six: The Real Heroes of AIDS in Africa

I am so grateful that I have both my mom and mother-in-law close by (as well as dad and father-in-law). They are so helpful taking the girls for special outings, acting as babysitters, and offering their support. I know that if something happened to either myself or Jason the grandparents would take them in a heartbeat. I know my children would be looked after & have many opportunities ahead of them.

When I think of 14 million AIDS orphans I can't imagine the burden on the family members left behind. It is often the grandmothers who end up raising the children. They are often in poor health, not able to work, and living on meager resources. Their child raising days are behind them, yet they graciously make lunches, mend clothes and take on more household duties. They are the true heroes of the AIDS crisis and victims at the same time.

Now consider the story of Monica Odour. She lives in Busia, Kenya on the border of Uganda. In 1996, she felt called to invite 6 orphaned street children to live in her home. She had 6 children of her own at the time and was trying to run her own business too. Nonetheless, the word began to spread and more orphaned children arrived. Soon she became known as "Mama Orphan". Today, Monica has 100 orphaned children in her care. She has not only opened her home but her average sized property now houses a "dormitory"/the main house, a dining hall with kitchen and a small "school" building. Monica still has some of her own children living at "home" & the grown children help with day to day needs of the orphanage. What great love and compassion she and her family have for Kenyan orphans. kenyanorphans.org

For Mama it is a struggle to put food on the table, clothe the children, pay for their schooling & pay for needed medical care. Within Kenya there is a stigma placed on AIDS orphans and many schools don't even want to take orphans. She often needs to find a new school for the children (as well as have uniforms made & even then they are turned away). Still, Mama perseveres & with a lot of prayer & support from the Kenyan Orphan Children Foundation she is providing not only food, shelter and an education for 100 orphaned children but love, care and a place to call home.

Day Twenty Five: The Wrong Type of Sex Ed = No Funding!

While researching AIDS, I came across "the world's most popular AIDS website"- AVERT.org. It is full of AIDS facts, news, and videos from around the world. I found a thought-provoking article about HIV prevention and sex education. The full article is here: www.avert.org/abstinence.htm

Sex Education has been a hotly debated since sex "education" became a part of the school curriculum. The parties divide themselves into two camps, Abstinence Based (i.e. Aspire, Love Waits) vs. a Comprehensive approach. Recently, programs combining the two have been developed, an "abstinence plus" approach (seen in programs such as Reducing the Risk and APAUSE- Added Power and Understanding in Sex Education). So what do sex education approaches have to do with AIDS in Africa?

Since 2003 PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) has given $18 billion dollars to addresss the international HIV/AIDS crisis. If you were paying attention to the date you would notice that it was George W. Bush and the Republican administration that initiated the PEPFAR organization. President Bush was also synonymous with Abstinence Education programs. Put two and two together and one would conclude that a majority of PEPFAR money goes to countries that promote abstinence-only (i.e. Uganda, Botswana, South Africa). That is exactly the criticism facing PEPFAR. (Of course, President Obama will have a different agenda since he's cut federal funding in the US for abstinence-only programs in favour of a more comprehensive approach.)

Eighteen billion dollars can't be argued with. A lot of lives have been saved with this money. The PEPFAR organization has been a significant contributor in preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and virtually eliminating it in the US. However, funding based on the sex ed program "du jour" in favour with the current presidential administration leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The pragmatic voice in the back of my head considers that in order to save lives a sex education program must be used, and that comes with it's own set of values, tied to the values of those who are the source of funds. Then again, perhaps I'm just too naive to expect a humanitarian program to consider human needs and lives over being politically correct.

Day Twenty-Four: AIDS: A Death Sentence

It seems that we all know someone who has been affected by cancer. My prayers goes out to those battling cancer as well as their families and friends. And my heart goes to those who have lost someone dear to them to cancer. I don't want to diminish the grief and impact cancer has. But can I say the same of AIDS? To be honest, I don't know anyone, personally, who has died from AIDS.

When I look at AIDS in Africa I am stunned by the inequity of the situation. Here are a few AIDS facts (2010, Stephen Lewis Foundation & 2011,UNAIDS):

- 33.3 million people in the world are infected with HIV/AIDS, 68% are in Africa! Ninety percent of affected children in the world live in Africa!

- In 2008, there were 2 million AIDS related deaths world-wide, 1.4 million were in sub-Saharan Africa! (Roughly, 76%)

- In Africa alone, EVERY DAY 5700 people die of AIDS (~1400 children) & EVERY DAY there are 6800 new cases of HIV/AIDS (~1500 children)! (*To put the number above into perspective, on the Titanic- 1500 people lost their lives, on 9/11 5000 people lost their lives. Every day in Africa, a major tragedy is occurring.)

- 1 in 20 adults in sub-Saharan Africa are affected by HIV (60% are women, most aged 15-24).

- There were 14.1 million AIDS orphans in 2008 (*children who have lost lost 1 or both parents), there are only 8 million children in Canada. (Today the # is estimated to be close to 18 million orphans).

For a visual punch, check out the video at the Stephen Lewis Foundation site entitled "Diagnosis". www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/diagnosis.mpg

It is clear from these numbers that everyone in Africa (specifically sub-Saharan Africa) can say that they know someone who has died from AIDS. That they personally, have been affected. Like the "Diagnosis" PSA describes, an HIV/AIDS diagnosis is essentially a death sentence. In "wealthy" countries anti-HIV drugs are commonplace and significantly improve the quality and "quantity" of life for someone who is HIV positive. The ethical question of drug companies making anti-HIV drugs widely available to Africa is an issue I won't tackle today. Nonetheless, the AIDS epidemic requires significant funds to create a level playing field in the area of drug accessibility. The Canadian-based Stephen Lewis Foundation http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/ takes on fundraising as well as providing support for public education, grief counselling, and the basis necessities for orphans and grandmothers (the unsung AIDS heroes).

There is hope. Since the peak of HIV infections in the mid-90's to the peak of AIDS related deaths from 2000 to 2005, many sub-Saharan countries are reporting a decrease in persons affected with HIV/AIDS. It will still take a lot of money, education and activism to "turn the tide" on HIV/AIDS in Africa. www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/whatyoucando.htm And a long, long time before people in sub-Saharan Africa can say they have not been personally affected by AIDS.