Press Release: HelpAge International
Workshop to Address Older People’s Role in the Care of HIV/AIDS Orphans

Nairobi, 15th September 2003 - HelpAge International will run a three-day workshop (17th – 19th September) to address the role of older persons in the care of AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children. This will take place at the Silver Springs Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ambassador Nancy Kirui, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services will officially open the workshop at 9 a.m.

Participants are drawn from Southern and Eastern African countries and the UK. They will comprise representatives of organisations working with older people, orphans and other vulnerable children, AIDS Control Councils, government representatives and donor agencies. Older people and AIDS orphans will be invited to participate and share experiences.

The number of AIDS orphans is rising dramatically as the pandemic continues to claim millions of young adults all over Africa. Most of these children end up under the care of grandparents living under extreme poverty that compromises their ability to provide adequately for them. This burden will increase as the orphans increase. In Uganda for example, 40% of these children are taken care of by older persons, while in Zimbabwe they take care of over 50% of the cases.

The workshop will review existing evidence regarding the role of older women and men as carers of orphans and vulnerable children affected by AIDS, identify existing supportive practices for older caregivers, and map out strategies to translate this into effective support mechanisms for older people and orphans and vulnerable children.

HelpAge International and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance have produced a report, Forgotten Families: Older People Caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Affected by HIV/AIDS, to be launched at the workshop. It highlights that older people caring for orphans and vulnerable children in countries severely affected by HIV/AIDS face hardship and isolation, and are in urgent need of support. The report further calls for, among others, economic support for older people, programmes to address psychosocial problems of the affected, and their inclusion in HIV/AIDS programmes.

The HAI workshop comes just before the 13th ICASA Conference on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections.

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HelpAge International is a global network of not-for-profit organisations working to improve the quality of lives of disadvantaged older people worldwide.

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For more information please contact:

HelpAge International, Africa Regional Development Centre, PO Box 14888, 00800 Nairobi, Kenya; Tel: +254-020-4446991/4449407/4444289; Fax: +254-020-4441052, Nairobi, Kenya; Email: [email protected]