Learning to live with HIV in Africa, the task that remains

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the most HIV cases in the world. “This program helps children understand that they have this disease and, more importantly, helps their parents normalize it in the family and avoid social rejection.”.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the most HIV cases in the world. According to Data from UNAIDS It affects two-thirds (67%) of the people living with this disease. Moreover, HIV is one of many gender inequalities, as six out of every seven new infections among adolescents aged 15 to 19 affect girls.

In addition to The impact on health caused by the disease and the side effects caused by the treatment are another very important aspect that must be taken into account: the social impact that HIV has on the population, especially among the youngest.

The The main measures to be able to reduce these alarming figures are prevention (use of contraceptives) and social awareness.

HIV in Africa: Support Program

Recover Foundation She works to facilitate access to quality and future-oriented health care for all people in Africa, with a sustainable healthcare model. To fulfill her mission, she runs programs at different health centers, such as the Psycho-Social Support Program for Adolescents with HIV/AIDS, and education about the disease for seropositive children and young people that was carried out in Bikop, Cameroon. During the last field visit of the Recover Spain team, Marta Marañón, general director of Recover Foundation, and Emilie Ngono, representative of Recover Foundation in Cameroon, visited this center and had the opportunity to interview Isabel, a doctor at the medical center in Bikop.

With her they have discussed the impact of AIDS on the family and especially on the younger generation. “This program helps children understand that they have this disease and, most importantly, helps their parents normalize it in the family and avoid social rejection.”. Because unfortunately, this last point is one of the most common ones. As Isabel recounts, “One of the children who participated in the program brought his medicine bottle to school every day, not knowing what his illness was, until one day a classmate told him in front of the other children.”According to Dr. Fernández, in addition to providing medication at an affordable price, they teach families to learn to live with the disease, and that children from childhood know that they suffer from HIV, without it being a barrier in their daily life.

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Labels #HIV #AIDS #transmission #foundationrecover