HIV and AIDS
Examining the Rollout of Pediatric Antiretroviral
Treatment in South Africa
“We are grossly
undersupplying antiretroviral drugs to children, and our prevention of
mother-to-child transmission program is not working at this site. As a
result children are dying in hoards,” explained one doctor who was
interviewed as part of a study of pediatric HIV treatment in South Africa.
While not all the findings were as grim as the one just quoted, the studies
revealed significant deficiencies in pediatric HIV treatment in South Africa.
HIV and AIDS
Ethical Implications of Working with Children
Few resources exist to help program managers and evaluators deal with the
difficult and potentially harmful situations that may arise when working
with children affected by HIV/AIDS. At the request of the US Agency for
International Development (USAID), a steering group was formed composed of
representatives of the Horizons program, Family Health International’s
IMPACT Program, UNICEF, and USAID to develop practical guidelines for those
who work with young people in international settings. The insights and
experiences of this group and others working in the field were collected and
analyzed in a handbook.
HIV and AIDS
Unsafe Behaviors Most Common Among Poor Women
Around the world, HIV infects about 1 percent of
15–24-year-olds, but in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, more than 14
percent of people in this age group are infected, according to a 2003
population-based survey by Lovelife and the Reproductive Health Research
Unit in Johannesburg. Young women are at particularly high risk of
infection. South Africa has three infected 15–24-year-old females for
every infected male of the same age. Poverty may play a key role in HIV
risk. Population Council health economist Kelly Hallman investigated the
effect of socioeconomic disadvantage on the sexual behaviors of young
women and men in KwaZulu-Natal, the most populated South African
province. She found that poverty is more consistently correlated with
unhealthy sexual behaviors among females than among males.
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Transitions to
Adulthood
Adolescent Behavior in the Context of AIDS in South Africa
South Africa
is one of the countries hardest hit by HIV. Nearly 25 percent of the women
who obtain antenatal care in South Africa are living with HIV; in the
country’s most populous province, KwaZulu-Natal, the figure is 34 percent.
Risky sexual behavior among youth is common; more than 35 percent of
19-year-old South African girls have been pregnant at least once. A recent study,
“Transitions to Adulthood in the Context of AIDS in South Africa,”
investigates factors that may influence the lives and sexual behavior of
young people in KwaZulu-Natal. The working papers discussed in this article
analyze evidence from the first round of data collection.
Transitions vers l'âge
adulte
Le comportement des
adolescents dans le contexte du SIDA en Afrique du Sud
L'Afrique du Sud est l’un des pays les
plus durement frappés par le VIH. Ici, presque 25 pour cent des femmes
bénéficiant de soins prénatals sont infectées par le VIH. Dans la province
la plus peuplée du pays, le KwaZulu-Natal, ce chiffre atteint 34 pour
cent. Les comportements sexuels à risque chez les jeunes sont fréquents et
par ailleurs, plus de 35 pour cent des Sud-Africaines de 19 ans ont déjà
connu au moins une grossesse.
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