Publication Date

Fall 2010

Program Name

Kenya: Health and Community Development

Abstract

The AIDS pandemic has become an increasingly global problem as well as an everyday reality for most people living in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2009, an estimation of the number of adults and children living with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa totaled around 22.4 million.1 The people that have been affected most by the pandemic are women and children.
In Kenya, about 1.5 million people are infected with HIV, about 180,000 of them being children.2 While a lot has been done to reduce HIV infections and treat those who are infected, children have been left behind until recently. There is still much more to be done with pediatric HIV, especially for guidance of caregivers in disclosing children‟s HIV status. Disclosure is a difficult process and lack of trainings and resources, as well as psychosocial support makes the process even more challenging.
This project will examine pediatric care of children in Kibera, Kenya living with HIV, specifically the counseling services available to them. The aim of this project is to assess the psychosocial support programs that are in place in Kibera to help HIV children cope with their status. However its main focus is to examine the disclosure process and training available to caregivers and health care workers as well as the challenges facing HIV positive children and their caregivers.
1 UNAIDS and World Health Organization. AIDS Epidemic Update. December 2009. .
2 UNAIDS Global Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2010. .

Disciplines

Civic and Community Engagement | Immune System Diseases | Inequality and Stratification | Medicine and Health | Social Psychology | Social Welfare

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