Welcome Back!

You have Gifts for Good in your basket.

Checkout Now
Continue shopping for more gifts

Welcome Back!

Last time you were here, you were looking to help vulnerable children and families. Your support can save and change lives.

Donate Now
Learn more about our appeals

Worldwide, the number of people newly infected by HIV continues to fall, in 2011 the number of people was 20% lower than in 2001, yet HIV and AIDS remains one of the most serious health challenges we face in the world today. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to carry the burden of the epidemic with 69% of all people living with HIV from the region, which includes many countries where ChildFund works.

“In Ethiopia, where nearly 800,000 people are living with HIV, ChildFund is helping to reduce the prevalence of HIV by educating young people and their families on how to protect themselves, encouraging testing and counselling, and also reducing the stigma around the disease,” says Rouena Getigan, international program coordinator at ChildFund Australia.

In the Sodo Buee area, a community which has been supported by ChildFund for the past 16 years, the prevalence of HIV and AIDS is nearly 2%. Early marriage, gender-based violence and a lack of awareness about reproductive health issues are aggravating the spread of HIV, with youth most at risk. Also increasing is the number of orphans and vulnerable children in the area, with over 1,000 orphans in the community.

To help combat the spread of HIV among young people, ChildFund with funding from the Australian Government has supported the construction of a youth-friendly reproductive health (YFRH) centre in Sodo Buee.

The centre is the first of its kind in the area and was built to reduce the stigma felt by young men and women when utilising health services. This youth-friendly multi-purpose centre has various features including HIV and AIDS counselling and testing, recreation space and educational services. This building also means that young people are no longer forced to share the same health facilities as adults at the nearby Buee Health Centre.

Young people who come to the centre are able to check their health status related to HIV whilst also enjoying the games, café and library at the centre. Youths from other districts have also started to use the services of the centre.

Bedilu, a young woman who attends the YFRH centre, says: “In the area there was a high rate of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion among young females and a lack of awareness on reproductive health services before the centre was constructed. Now the services are available and the problems are gradually getting better.”

ChildFund has trained over 40 peer educators from nine schools who are using music, drama and sport competitions to raise awareness of reproductive health issues and HIV €“ more than 100 youths have come to the YFRH centre after being referred by one of our peer educators. Thousands of youth-focused leaflets, 200 posters and 10 billboards are also being used to reach young people.

Since July, ChildFund has also conducted 18 community awareness sessions with a focus on important issues such as the need for HIV testing before marriage, prevention of early marriage, and care and support for children and adults living with HIV and AIDs.

While Ethiopia has seen a decline of more than 25% in new HIV infections in recent years, it remains a country severely affected by the epidemic. ChildFund is working with the government and local communities to help Ethiopia get to zero.

World AIDS Day, held on 1 December each year, is recognised and observed by millions of people around the world. This year`s theme is Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths. Learn about the progress being made here.

Titus (pictured middle) loves to play soccer, cook with his brother and do math. One day this bright, young 12-year-old boy hopes to be an engineer. Yet, Titus faces some serious challenges. He lives in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, which is a tough place to grow up. Most families live in one-room shanties constructed of makeshift materials, and children typically sleep on the floor. Titus and his mother are also both HIV-positive.

But with support from ChildFund Titus and his mother are receiving the medications they need to stay healthy, and they also attend a support group for those affected by HIV and AIDS.

Titus and his mother, who is a community health worker and sells vegetables near their home, tested HIV-positive in 2006. His mother was in shock at first and did not take the medications she needed to be healthy. Today, though, thanks to the support group, both mother and son take their medicine regularly and have learnt about nutrition therapy, as well as receiving water treatment kits and school materials. Last year Titus also went to a special camp for children affected by HIV and AIDS.

Titus is happy and confident about the future, and he and his parents and brothers talk about HIV openly. “The one thing I love about my family is that we love each other,” he says.

Kenya has a serious AIDS epidemic that touches virtually everyone in the country. Although the prevalence of the disease has declined in the past 15 years, in 2011, 1.6 million people, 6.2 per cent of the country, were recorded as HIV-positive, according to UNICEF, and 1.1 million children were AIDS orphans.

ChildFund has implemented a long-term support program for children in Kenya who have been affected by HIV and AIDS. So far, 350 children and 200 parents have been tested for HIV and received counselling, and more than 1,000 families have started income-generating work that allows them to afford nutritious food and school materials. More than 70,000 children have also received insecticide-treated mosquito nets that help prevent malaria, a disease that is particularly debilitating for those already weak with HIV or AIDS.

By subscribing, you agree to receive communication from ChildFund Australia.