Children With AIDS in Brazil

09/09/2003

"The best way to kill an idea is to take it to a meeting." - Anonymous

CHILDREN WITH AIDS IN BRAZIL

The Coordinators' Notebook (Issue #26) published by the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development (www.ecdgroup.com) included an AIDS report by Alessandra Schneider and Cristina Raposo. "Early Childhood Education and Care and the AIDS Epidemic in Brazil." In part this report observed . . .

"When we speak of chlidren with AIDS in Brazil we refer to 7,335 that acquired the HIV virus when they were less than thirteen. According to the AIDS Epidemiological Bulletin of the Ministry of Health, 5924 children acquired the illness when they were born. It is known that 2,909 have already died, representing forty percent of the total of infected children between 1983 and 2000. Perhaps an even more alarming is the fact that almost thirty thousand boys and girls younger than fifteen became AIDS orphans between 1987 and 1999.

"As a result of the increasing number of infections among the female population, prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the disease has been made a top priority in Brazil. The Ministry of Health and its partners are now paying close attention to this particular population. The main instrument that is currently being used to reduce the impact of the epidemic among women is the incorporation of STD/HIV/AIDS prevention activities into basic health care for women, with special emphasis placed on HIV testing at prenatal sessions, as well as during delivery and post-delivery. Women today can count on specific interventions and have guaranteed access to appropriate therapies along with improved access to prevention information. . . .

"In Brazil, the number of newborns infected with HIV dropped from 843 in 1997 to 263 in 2000. . . . However, both the children born with the infection and those without are impacted by the disease in various ways: by the probability that they will become orphans, by social prejudice regarding HIV/AIDS. If we add to this the fact that infection rates are higher in poor areas and among women, we can see that even by reducing the number of infected people, we will still find a proportionally higher rate of directly or indirectly infected children, making them twice as vulnerable."

A number of ExchangeEveryDay readers have asked why we have been including news about HIV/AIDS. What does this have to do with early childhood education they ask? Our response is that at the 2003 World Forum on Early Care and Education, HIV/AIDS was identified by delegates as one of the greatest threats to children. In some nations, teachers of young children are dying of AIDS at a greater rate than they can be replaced, causing a serious staffing challenge. Children are being orphaned by AIDS causing a caregiving challenge. Children from families with AIDS are stigmatized by society, giving rise to a major educational challenge. Children are being infected by HIV/AIDS resulting in a health intervention challenge. At this stage, we are basically sharing information about the extent of the AIDS crisis. However, we have been in discussion with the Consultative Group about how early childhood educators around the world can help those working with children impacted by AIDS. If you have ideas on how help can be marshalled in effective ways, please share your ideas by sending them to [email protected].

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