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Exchange no. 2, 2007

Orphans and vulnerable children

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From the editor

This issue of Exchange magazine mainly focuses on programmes that strengthen the livelihoods of children affected or infected by HIV. The first article describes the development from exclusive attention being paid to ‘AIDS orphans’, now considered a highly stigmatizing term, to a focus on all vulnerable children living in societies highly affected by HIV and AIDS. The author calls this ‘AIDS sensitive but not AIDS specific’ programming. One of these AIDS-sensitive initiatives are social protection schemes aimed to assist poor and vulnerable children, including those affected by AIDS, through the transfer of cash (child grants). These strategies are currently being tried out, supported by UNICEF, in several countries.

Another article describes a comprehensive support programme in Cambodia for children living with or affected by HIV. At a new day-care centre, Cambodian children receive multidisciplinary support, which aims to meet their medical, nutritional, psychosocial and educational needs. An article on India shows the lack of attention paid in this vast country to the problems and needs of children affected by AIDS and recent emerging trends in rectifying this situation. A programme in Uganda provides livelihoods options to young orphans and other vulnerable children, by offering them a combination of vocational skills building (through apprenticeships and practical education) and the tools to set up their own small business.

The remaining articles in this issue feature a project in Somaliland that strengthens the role of the media in providing correct information on HIV and AIDS and a project in Namibia that works with peer educators and adolescent-friendly clinics in providing sexual and reproductive health information and services to rural youth.

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