I don’t often post on weekends, but today is World AIDS Day, so I’m continuing my tradition of sharing stories and statistics about parents and children with HIV/AIDS. Even in the fourth decade of its existence, the disease continues to shatter lives and decimate communities.
First, two resources for stories about (mostly LGBTQ) parents with AIDS:
- 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.
- The Recollectors, a storytelling and community-building site for those who have lost parents to AIDS, has posted numerous new stories. (See my interview with one of the two founders, both of whom had gay dads.)
Let’s not forget, however, the still-sobering worldwide statistics about mothers, children, and HIV/AIDS (statistics about fathers and AIDS seem harder to find). In 2017, an estimated 36.9 million people worldwide were living with HIV, including 1.8 million children under 15 years old. Although new HIV infections among children have declined by 35 percent since 2010, according to UN AIDS, they remind us:
New HIV infections among children have declined by only 8% in the past two years, only half (52%) of all children living with HIV are getting treatment and 110 000 children died of AIDS-related illnesses in 2017. Although 80% of pregnant women living with HIV had access to antiretroviral medicines to prevent transmission of HIV to their child in 2017, an unacceptable 180 000 children acquired HIV during birth or breastfeeding—far away from the target of fewer than 40 000 by the end of 2018.
UNICEF provides some further statistics on children and adolescents under 19 years old:
- 3.0 million children and adolescents are living with HIV. Nearly nine in ten live in sub-Saharan Africa.
- 430,000 children and adolescents became newly infected with the virus in 2017
- 130,000 children and adolescents died from AIDS-related causes in 2017
And while 2.0 million new HIV infections could be averted between 2018 and 2030 if global goals are met, with 1.5 million averted among adolescents, we’re still looking towards this picture in 2030:
- 1.9 million children and adolescents are projected to be living with HIV
- 270,000 children and adolescents are projected to become newly infected with the virus annually
- 56,000 children and adolescents are projected to die from AIDS-related causes annually
Even children who are not infected themselves may be impacted by the disease, UNICEF notes:
- 12.2 million children aged 0—17 in Eastern and Southern Africa have lost one or both parents due to AIDS-related causes
- 14.8 million children aged 0—14 were exposed to HIV because their mothers were living with the virus, but they remain uninfected.
Some good news is that in 2017, 80 percent of pregnant women living with HIV had access to antiretroviral medicines to prevent transmission to their babies, up from 76 percent in 2016 and 47 percent in 2010. But as Michel Sidibé, executive director of UNAIDS, said in July, “We are sounding the alarm. Entire regions are falling behind, the huge gains we made for children are not being sustained, women are still most affected and key populations continue to be ignored. All these elements are halting progress and urgently need to be addressed head on.”
While the statistics paint an alarming picture, it is important to remember, though, that AIDS is more than just statistics. It is only by understanding the people and their stories behind the statistics that we can come to understand the real impact of the disease and fully comprehend why we must work to end it.
That’s an uphill climb and getting steeper. President Trump seems to be set to sign legislation extending the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for five years, which will help people living with AIDS around the world. At the same time, Vice President Mike Pence, well-known for his anti-LGBTQ views, did not mention LGBTQ people once in his World AIDS Day remarks yesterday, showing the administration’s lack of understanding about the disease and its impact. And the Department of Health and Human Services is taking millions of dollars from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program and others to pay for housing detained immigrant children, as Yahoo News reported in September. Trump’s track record on HIV/AIDS just isn’t good.
Let us, however, honor those lost to the disease, recommit to supporting those living with AIDS, and help those working to end it. Our efforts are needed now as much as ever.