Swaziland
HIV / AIDS
The HIV/AIDS scourge has been noted to have its most profound effects on children. Currently statistics show that more than half of the people with HIV infection are below the age of 25 and 60% of the new infections that occur are within the 15-24 years age group. The UNAIDS HIV/AIDS World Report 2000 estimates that there are 13 million AIDS orphans in the world. These statistics reveal the urgency with which HIV/AIDS issues need to be addressed among children.
During the course of this past year, Save the Children was able to successfully recruit a programme manager to head the HIV/AIDS Programme. We have in the past years been strategically engaging HIV/AIDS combat work cross-cuttingly through all our programmes. However it was apparent almost from the start that to ensure the efficiency of this strategy there should be a focal person who will lead HIV/AIDS issues in our organisation and of course also judging from the extent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among our constituency. Activities set out for the year 2000-2001 picked up pace with the arrival of the focal person. This report seeks to provide a profile of the events that took place in the last year.
Advocacy, Awareness and Education on HIV / AIDS
Our field officers continued to carry out awarenedd and educational sessions for children in school and out of school regarding HIV/AIDS. This also included the establishment of Child-to-Child clubs for purposes of perpetuating HIV/AIDS education of chiuldren among children. Continued supporyt was also offerd to existing child-to-child clubs to continue with their work.
Awareness and advocacy was undertaken focusing on groups of adults, professionals and community based workers such as Nurses, Rural Health Motivator, Community Police and Communities regarding the effects of HIV/AIDS on children. This exercise highlights the specific issues that put children at risk to HIV and also the needs of children affected by AIDS. Issues of utmost importance addresed are:
- The need to avail HIV/AIDS ecucation, life skills education and child friendly health care services that will enable children to protect themselves against HIV
- The stigmatisation and discriumination of affected children
- The traumactic expereinces of children taking care of illparents and the eventual loss of parents
- The violation of affected children’s rights, especially the right to their inheritance
- The increasing number of children left to head households by themselves.
Workshops
Educational Workshops for a group of Visually Impaired People
HIV/AIDS Programme in conjunction with the Disability Development Programme conducted a three-day educational workshop for a group of Visually impaired adult men and women. These were selected from the four regions of Swaziland and basically are members of Incoming Generation Groups, which our Disability and Development Programme works with. It is one of our goals as an organisation to ensure full participation of disabled people in developmental issues; we seek to spread awareness of HIV/AIDS as it negatively impacts on the development of disabled people in Swaziland. We found this to be of paramount importance since people with disabilities are not prioritised for HIV/AIDS awareness and education because of their disability.
Workshop Aim and Expected Outcome
The main aim of the workshop was to provide HIV/AIDS education and life skills to a group of visually impaired people. The participants are expected to use their knowledge to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and as well to address issues of HIV/AIDS with their children and families and among their peers.
Responding to the needs of Children affected by AIDS
Response to the needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS entails the protection of children’s basic rights and the assurance of the fulfillment of these rights. As it might be expected the mere function of an HIV/AIDS programme within a Child Protection Organisation is that of ensuring the protection of children in a world where it has been proven that HIV/AIDS has such devastating effects on children. Therefore the efforts we put into accomplishing this objective will be seen to extend beyond and intermingling with our core function.
An exercise of this nature encompasses the involvement of the community as much as possible to ensure sustainable solutions to the problems faced by children at community level. The current most common problems include:
- Children living on their own in most cases without the most basic things such as shelter, food, care
- Children living with grandparents without any source of livelihood
- Children robbed of their inheritance rights by the relatives, extended family and the community
- Children growing up without guidance and advice, not knowing their origins and legacy
- Children without opportunities to learn, express themselves and continue with school
- Children robbed of their inheritance rights
Educational Needs
Even though the Sponsorship Programme was eventually abated in our organisation, donations are still forwarded to us by individuals. This year we were able to gather from the Life Foundation (Ekhaya) a donation of US$5000 with which we were able to afford once off educational relief to a total of 106 children affected by AIDS.
Basic Needs
Relief is afforded to children found to be without food and clothing or shelter while we together with the community explore sustainable solutions to the plight of these children.
Guidance and Advice
Our field offices conduct home visits to assess and ascertain the emotional wellbeing of children and provide counseling where needed.
Protection of Inheritance Rights of Children
Children’s rights to inheritance are often violated even while the mother is still alive and becomes more severe when both parents have died. The relatives are the first to gain access to the property of children left alone and the community leaders in terms of property pertaining to land. Our intervention broadly consists of; awareness and advocacy for the rights of children to their inheritance and especially the children’s right to land, and educate the community on the rights of children and the needs and vulnerability of children affected by AIDS. Specifically, the negotiations with the community leaders and members of the extended family regarding observing the inheritance rights of children and for them to protect this right from violation by any other community members.
Staff Training
HIV/AIDS Capacity Building Workshop for Save the Children Swaziland Child Protection Field Workers and Disability & Development Field Workers.
Field Officers from the Child Protection Programme and the Disability and Development Programme were taken through an in-service training workshop divided to fit into 4 parts of two-day workshops per week.
Workshop Aim
The aim of the workshop was to equip the officers with the necessary skills to effectively address HIV/AIDS issues within the communities where they work. It was geared at providing the participants with comprehensive and updated HIV/AIDS information, harmonise information they have, clarify myths and misconceptions address some training approaches that encompass child particpation and are conducive for children.
Expected Output
- Disseminate relevant and updated information
- Use acquired skills to enhance service provision
- Have in place a functional referral system to better handle cases reported to them
- Develop networks with other AIDS Service Organisations at regional level
Networking
Save the Children was able to facilitate HIV/AIDS awareness/education sessions together with other organisations in the Incwala National Ceremony and the Umhlanga Reed Dance Ceremony an exercise coordinated by the HIV/AIDS Crisis Management and Technical Committee.
Save the Children also participated in the formulation of a Strategic Plan for the HIV/AIDS NGO Consortium of which we are members.
We are members of the Save the Children Alliance aidsnet and we also network regularly with the other Save the Children organisations in the Southern African region.
We have been co-opted to be implementing partners in the Health Promotion in Schools Initiative.
Trainers from our organisations were asked to be part of an HIV/AIDS training of trainers workshop for civil servants, Lumbobo nurses and Rural Health Motivators on HIV/AIDS and Children.
Constraints
The major constrain faced in trying to accomplish the set objectives are time, inadequate resources and funds to be able to reach more children in need.
Way Forward
- We seek to continue our work in the area of Advocacy, Awareness and Education of Children and Young People on HIV/AIDS and also to incorporate the life skills education. Child-to-Child clubs will also continue to be used as they are found to be a very good strategy of engaging children as a means of influencing behaviour change.
- We will also persist in our advocacy and education campaigns among the adults in order for us to realise the protection of children affected by HIV/AIDS and the respect of children’s rights especially the inheritance right.
- Adult HIV/AIDS education will be focused on the groups of people with disabilities as we have observed that they are marginalised when it comes to receiving information on HIV/AIDS.
- Counseling of children affected by HIV/AIDS will continue and as well the provision of relief for educational needs and basic needs if our financial capacity can cope.
- Our main focus will also be on the involvement of the children, community leaders, extended family and the community in the protection of children affected by AIDS from stigma and discrimination and the violation of their rights.
- Networking has been very pivotal in our service provision, collaboration and focusing and therefore we feel it is crucial to persist in this angle.
- The issue of HIV/AIDS is ever evolving and new information keeps coming to light. Therefore we feel obligated that we always keep our staff members trained and updated on the latest developments regarding HIV/AIDS.
- Concentrated efforts on HIV/AIDS will not only be afforded to beneficiaries of Save the Children but also to the staff members of the organisation itself. Information, Education and Communication will be focused on the staff members and condoms will be made available that staff members are able to protect themselves against HIV.
- The HIV/AIDS Staff Policy will also be reviewed in an attempt to ensure that staff members infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are protected and supported where possible by the organisation