Today is World AIDS Day, so I’m sharing stories and statistics about parents and children with HIV/AIDS.
First, two resources for stories about parents with AIDS:
- The Recollectors, a storytelling and community-building site for those who have lost parents to AIDS, has posted numerous new stories. (See also my interview with one of the founders.)
- Abigail Garner, author of the highly recommended Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is
, has posted several excerpts from its chapter on AIDS. She includes stories of children growing up with gay parents during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, advice on how to support children with HIV-positive parents, and tips on how both HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay parents themselves can talk with their children about their status and how they are protecting themselves.
Let’s also not forget the still-sobering statistics about mothers, children, and HIV/AIDS (statistics about fathers and AIDS seem harder to find):
- The good news (via UN AIDS) is that “32% [30%-34%] of all children living with HIV were accessing treatment in 2014, up from 14% [13%-15%] in 2010.”
- Additionally, “73% [68%-79%] of pregnant women living with HIV had access to antiretroviral medicines to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies in 2014; new HIV infections among children were reduced by 58% from 2000 to 2014.”
- At the same time, as Avert tell us, “In 2014, there were roughly 2 million new HIV infections, 220,000 of which were among children. Most of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa and were infected via their HIV-positive mothers during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.”
- And while deaths in most age groups are decreasing, they are increasing in adolescents, according to a new report from the UN Children’s Fund. They tell us, “The number of adolescent deaths from AIDS has tripled over the last 15 years with 26 new infections occurring every hour…. AIDS is the top cause of death among adolescents (15-19) in Africa and the second leading cause of death among adolescents globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, the region with the highest prevalence, girls are vastly more affected, accounting for 7 in 10 new infections among 15-19 year olds.”
Today coincidentally marks “Giving Tuesday” here in the U.S. as well as World AIDS Day. I hope many choose to give to AIDS-related organizations, for the crisis isn’t over.
Has HIV/AIDS touched your life?
