Nutritional support for orphaned and other vulnerable children, school feeding, and adolescent in
heavily HIV affected area
At the end of this section you will be provided with references older than
2004.
De Wagt A, Connolly M. Orphans and the impact of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan
Africa. Food, Nutrition and Agriculture, 2005, 34: 24-31.
There are 11 millions orphans in Africa as a result of AIDS. The
Vulnerability of children increases long before the death of a parent or
guardian. Children watch the parent deteriorate and eventually die. They often
face loss of family and identity, increased malnutrition and reduced opportunity
for education. Without adequate care and support, many are exposed to
exploitative child labour and abuse and face increased vulnerability to HIV
infection. This paper exposes the wide variety of problems that can affect
orphans, including increased food insecurity, stigma and discrimination, reduced
access to education and economic opportunities, and sexual abuse and
exploitation. It exposes some required responses.
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the entire article.
NEW! He Z, Ji C. Nutritional status,
psychological well-being and the quality of life of AIDS orphans in rural Henan
Province, China. Tropical Medicine and International Health. 2007, 12(10):
1180-1190.
Click here for the Pubmed summary.
Kadio D et al. Improving the nutritional status of orphans and
malnourished children in Guinea, Presented at the HIV/AIDS and Food and
Nutrition Security conference: From Evidence to Action, April 14-16, 2005,
Durban, South Africa, 2005.
In 1999, the World Health Organization reported that malnutrition and
HIV/AIDS were the underlying causes of death for 50% and 30%, respectively, of
children under five in Africa. The objective of this study was to rehabilitate
severely malnourished children infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS at the
community level. The intervention, using the Positive Deviance Hearth model,
identifies caretakers whose household feeding practices result in an improved
nutritional status. In terms of conclusion, the model enables effective
nutritional rehabilitation of vulnerable malnourished children, encourages
valorization of local food products, leads to behavioral changes at the
community and household level, and reinforces social integration and
revalorization of children affected by HIV/AIDS.
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Mason JB, Bailes A, Mason KE et al.
AIDS, drought, and child malnutrition in southern Africa. Public Health
Nutrition. 2005, 8(6): 551-563.
This epidemiological analysis aims to investigate trends in child
malnutrition in six countries in southern Africa in the context of HIV
epidemic and drought during years 2001-2003. Data from Lesotho, Malawi,
Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe concerning weight-for-age of
children 0-5 years and HIV prevalence were collected, analysed and
recommendations given. Importantly, the most vulnerable may no longer be in
the rural areas, but it occurs that the semi-urban households may be the most
vulnerable and to whom resources need to be directed. The causes of this
vulnerability need further investigations. HIV/AIDS interacts with drought and
amplifies the effects of malnutrition, so in case of other drought the
response needs to be rapid and effective. Therefore specific nutritional
surveillance is needed to monitor and respond to deteriorating trends. Even in
normal years HIV epidemic leads to deterioration in child nutrition and
well-being. The authors call for new means of bringing help, comfort and
assistance to the child population.
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Mbaye N and Becker C. Guide de la prise en charge des orphelins et enfants
rendus vulnérables par le VIH/SIDA au Sénégal. Synergie pour l’enfance, Alliance
Internationale contre le SIDA, HACI, Dakar, 2006.
This document, only available in French, presents a review of the document
called “Bâtissons le futur: Notes thématiques pour l’Afrique” and adapts it to
Senegalese setting. The document aims to increase national, community and
household efforts to help orphans and vulnerable children, and provides among
others a general section on nutrition and health in the context of HIV.
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Rivers J, Silvestre E, Mason J.
Nutritional and Food Security Status of Orphans and vulnerable Children: Report
of a Research Project supported by UNICEF, IFPRI, and WFP. New Orleans,
Department of International Health and Development, Tulane University School of
Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 2004.
It is estimated that there are 10 million orphans due to the HIV epidemic
in sub-Saharan Africa and many other children are affected by the disease,
whether by living with a parent who is chronically ill or living in a
household that is hosting orphans. While efforts are aimed at preventing
future orphans, many more children will lose their parents before the epidemic
is under control. It appears there seems to be a lack of data on the situation
of orphans and on the quality and effectiveness of the interventions that have
been carried out. Gaps in findings make it difficult to assess if orphans and
other vulnerable children have specific nutritional needs separate from other
children. This report attempts to answer this question by establishing the
present nutritional status of orphans in sub-Saharan Africa by examining a
large number of surveys made in different countries in the region. The
publication intends to answer: 1) To what degree is child anthropometry and
household food security affected by orphan-hood and chronic sickness; 2) Is
underweight the most appropriate indicator to measure the nutritional status
of orphans; 3) Which types of households are most affected by food insecurity
and which indicators show promise for future monitoring; and 4) How does the
concept of vulnerability relate to food security? Since the majority of
orphans are actually adolescents, the traditional nutrition
indicator--underweight--is not the most relevant, therefore, an additional
food security indicator was developed. The document discusses the methodology
used, and presents some recommendations on how to conduct future monitoring
and surveillance of vulnerable children.
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for the entire article.
Sarker M, Neckermann C, Muller O. Assessing the health status of young
AIDS and other orphans in Kampala, Uganda. Tropical Medicine & International
Health, 2005, 10(3):210-215.
The huge number of HIV/AIDS orphan is an important feature of the epidemic in
sub-Saharan Africa. Up to now there are few and conflicting data on the effects
of being orphaned on health and nutrition in the highly affected HIV endemic
areas of Africa. The authors conducted a survey with the objective to assess the
effects of orphan status on health and particularly nutritional parameters of
young children in urban Uganda. A high prevalence of orphans was reported from a
central Kampala community, with 41% being attributed to HIV/AIDS. Although there
was a higher prevalence of self-reported morbidity in orphans than nonorphans,
there were no differences in reported treatment seeking behaviour and measured
anthropometric parameters. Although the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in urban
Uganda, the orphan status seems to have no major effects on health and
nutritional parameters. It appears that the extended family system turns out to
be efficient to care for young orphans in urban Uganda.
Click here for the Pubmed summary.
Shetty AK et al. Children orphaned by AIDS: a global perspective. Seminars
in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, 2003, 14(1):25-31.
Click here for the Pubmed summary.
UNICEF/UNAIDS/USAID/Measure DHS/Family Health International/ The World Bank/ Save the Children/ International
HIV/AIDS Alliance. Guide to monitoring and evaluation of the national response
for children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. New York, United Nation
Children's Fund, 2005.
In 2001, the United Nation General Assembly organized a special session on
HIV/AIDS. It resulted in a Declaration of Commitment to achieve a set of goals
and targets in order to fight HIV/AIDS. As an outcome of this Declaration a
strategic framework for the protection, care and support of the orphans have
been developed. This publication presents indicators to measure progress in
achieving the Millennium Development Goals on halting and beginning to reverse
the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2015. It provides guidance to governments,
international organizations and non-governmental organizations in monitoring and
evaluating the national response for orphans and children made vulnerable by
HIV/AIDS. This guide complements other indicator guidelines on monitoring and
evaluation related to HIV/AIDS that have been coordinated by the UNAIDS
Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group. The document is organized into 2
parts: 1 - discussion on the issues related to the general monitoring and
evaluation of orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS; and 2 -
specific guidance in the use of the recommended indicators.
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Visser MJ, Schoeman JB, Perold JJ. Evaluation of HIV/AIDS prevention in
South African schools. Journal of Health Psychology, 2004, 9(2):263-280.
Click here for the Pubmed summary.
In this section you will find documents older than 2004:
Landis R. Widening the ‘Window of Hope’ Using Food Aid to Improve Access
to Education for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Rome, World Food Programme, 2002.
This document, written for WFP, was undertaken to help better understand
the situation of orphans and other vulnerable children, especially their
access to education and to determine the role that food aid might play in
helping them. It does not focus on HIV/AIDS and related nutrition disorders,
but children and orphans infected by HIV/AIDS face stigma, discrimination and
differential treatment within their communities, schools and even their own
families. Therefore, among other effects, they do not attend school. The
document starts with characterizing the orphans and the vulnerable children,
and then proposes interventions to improve access to education for them. It
also explains how the HIV/AIDS pandemic has dealt a critical blow to the
education sector in some eastern and southern African countries. Furthermore,
it proposes how to deal with the problem of the positive correlation between
HIV infection and levels of education.
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WFP. HIV/AIDS and Children. Rome, World Food Programme, 2003.
Click here for the entire article.
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