By Ama Achiaa Amankwah
The HIV/AIDS menace is still prevalent. It appears to have come to stay with mankind. Many are the people, institutions, traditional and religious beliefs that claim to have found a cure for the deadly disease that is wiping out a chunk of the world’s population, particularly the youth who are needed for sustainable development. The HIV pandemic has also left many homes in despair, anxiety and much grief.
Economically, most families have lost breadwinners to the dreadful disease and are struggling to make ends meet.
Many children have been made orphans especially in sub-Saharan Africa, adding to the economic woes facing the continent. In Ghana like any other African country there are HIV/AIDs orphans.
Certain regions particularly Eastern and Brong Ahafo seem to be currently recording increasing numbers of AIDs orphans. Few non-governmental organizations have responded to the needs of such unfortunate children. One of such groups is the Serwah Ampem Aids Foundation for Children, (SAAFC) based in Kumasi.
Established in November 2002, SAAFC is providing home-based care to over two hundred children in Ashanti region, between the ages of 0-15 infected with and affected by the HIV/AIDs disease.
The idea for the home-based care is to wipe off the stigma by leaving them to continue to live together with their families. Named after the present Asantehemaa (Queen of Asante), SAAFC is the brainchild of the Ashantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu 11.
According to Kwame Owusu Kwateng, assistant to Lady Julia Osei Tutu, wife of the Ashantehene, who is the Executive Director of SAAFC, the organisation basically provides educational, health, human rights and counseling services to their dependants.
“With education, SAAFC provides whatever it takes for a child to be in school. For instance in 2004 we paid school fees but last year we only provided stationery as a result of the implementation of the capitation grant.”
On health, Mr. Kwateng explained that his organisation is paying for premiums on behalf of parents with the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme, (NHIS). “We are also bearing the cost of some children who are infected with the disease.”
He said SAAFC employs the services of counseling specialist and district representatives to provide counseling services to the children.
According to him, some of the children suffer from psychological trauma which results in timidity and low self esteem.
Mr. Kwateng said the foundation collaborates with human rights groups such as the International Federation of Women Lawyers, (FIDA) Ghana, to protect the rights of these unfortunate children. “Periodically, we hold durbars and sensitization workshops for care givers and members of the society to inculcate in them the need to accept such children who are infected and affected with HIV.”
He observed that but for the intervention of certain NGO’s like SAAFC,
these children who are the future of the country would have fallen out. “Society in general has not given the HIV pandemic the attention it needs. There is still stigmatization and discrimination against people living with the disease and those affected by it”, he regretted.
In his opinion, it is time for all and sundry to learn to accept the presence of the disease and find ways to deal with it.
“Through no fault of theirs these children or HIV orphans have found themselves in such a situation. Society should be made aware and come to their aid since they are needed for the country’s sustainable development,” Kwateng said
He added that the vision of SAAFC is for all children, both affected by and infected with HIV/AIDs to enjoy an improved quality of life through strengthening of care and support programmes, to eliminate all forms of discrimination and stigmatization and substantially reduce new HIV infections among children.
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