‘Call to Action’ has raised world’s consciousness about special needs of AIDS orphans

UNITED NATIONS (Nov. 30, 2009) – Ten years after an urgent ‘Call to Action’ to relieve the plight of children orphaned by AIDS, a study released today shows that there is growing recognition of the special needs of those most vulnerable to the AIDS global pandemic, and that both government and non-governmental entities have stepped up efforts to meet those needs.

The results were discussed at a press conference and international symposium organized by the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA) and including representatives of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Department of Public Information, the United States Mission to the United Nations, the World Health organization and the United Nations Population Fund, U.S. Department of State and the goverrnment of Malawi.

C. Virginia Fields, President and CEO of NBLCA, applauded participants for their hard work on behalf of children infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS and said it has paid off.. “Thanks to your hard work and steadfast committment, we have accomplished much in the decade since we last met in this great setting,” Fields said.

“However we cannot afford to rest on our laurels,” she added. “Our planet is still enveloped in the lengthening shadow of HIV/AIDS. At this very moment, children here at home and abroad are mourning the loss of their mothers and fathers due to AIDS. Many of them will face discimination, malnutrition, sexual abuse and exploitation. We must give them hope and the promise of a brighter future.”

Susan Rice, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, said in opening remarks to the symposium that the Obama Administration is committed to addressing the problems of children and AIDS through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which she said will have a budget of more than $6 billion next year.

“As the number of orphans and vulnerable children continues to grow, PEPFAR is scaling up its efforts,” Ambassardor Rice said. “We do so out of a deep-seated belief that all of our children should have dreams without limits and none of them is expendable.”

But she added: “The battle is far, far from won.”

A report entitled ”Children and AIDS, Fourth Stocktaking Report, 2009,” was released at today’s press conference, followed by an international symposium entitled “The Children Left Behind.” The report lists success stories from around the world:

Ghana began a Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty program in 2006-07 as a pilot cash grant for guardians and caregivers of orphaned children. That program has been expanded and is now part of the country’s national Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Malawi has a National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, and the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy includes the design, implementation and evaluation of a social cash-transfer scheme that seeks to reduce poverty and hunger. As of April 2009, that program had reached more than 23,000 households and 92,000 individuals, of which more than 48,000 were orphans and vulnerable children.

In China, the “Four Fees, One Care” AIDS policy led to the introduction of small grants, vocational and animal husbandry training and other assistance to women living with HIV. From 2006 to 2008, per capita annual income of HIV-affected families in a demonstration county increased by 38 percent.

The report found “growing international support for social protection approaches that are both child-sensitive and AIDS-sensitive.” But it noted that substantial challenges lay ahead, notably the worldwide economic crisis of 2008 and 2009, which the report says “has raised concerns about how assistance for women and children will be sustained and expanded to reach universal access targets.”

“It is time to recommit ourselves to this cause because the struggle is not over,” said Bertil Lindblad, Director of UNAIDS New York office.

Jimmy Kolker, Chief of UNICEF HIV and AIDS Section, concluded succinctly: “The results are in, we know what to do — we need to do it.”

The report can be accessed here: http://weshare.unicef.org/pickup?key=Sb578c1ce-981f-4d09-b0ec-4d903f58466e