1. Most Filipino children do not know that their parents are living with HIV.
Filipino parents living with HIV are reluctant to tell their children about their status because they want to protect their children from HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Even infected children are not being told about HIV. As long as society continues to discriminate against people with HIV/AIDS, parents will continue to keep the truth of HIV and AIDS from their children.
2. There is a deafening silence of Filipino children affected by HIV/AIDS.
The National HIV/AIDS Registry lists only known cases of HIV. If most of the estimated 9,000 people living with HIV (PLH) in the Philippines have children, that could mean thousands of children are affected.
3. Psychosocial needs of children affected by HIV and AIDS are not addressed.
Children are required to carry the emotional burden of seeing parents ill and die, and of caring for them and their siblings. The children are not given a chance to prepare for the possible impending death of a parent, often remaining in the dark about the disease. Possible support systems like the school, the church, the community are unable to help these children because the silence regarding HIV prevents them from becoming aware of HIV in their community and its impact on the children.
4. Paediatric anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) are not yet available in the Philippines.
For children living with HIV, no pediatric formulations of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) are available, and children are forced to rely on adult formulations, often with strong side effects. The national government is procuring ARVs for 10 children, with the drugs expected to arrive by 2006. Because of the silence surrounding HIV, children are not diagnosed for HIV, nor treated for possible related ailments .
5. Children miss out on family life, as their parents fall sick or die.
As infected parents weaken or enter into long-term treatment, they are unable to look after their children. Families are torn apart, with children moving in with relatives. Siblings get separated from each other. Affected children miss out on having their own family to support, love, and care for them.
6. Affected children miss out on education.
When parents fall sick, limited financial resources are stretched. Too often, the children have to find work to support the family or to care for their parents. They eventually drop out from school. The pressure to quit schooling is even higher when they are taken in by relatives who may not be able to provide for their education.
7. Affected children give up their childhood by takin on the role of caregivers and providers.
As their parents' ailments become more severe, children have to take care of their parents or work to support the family. They quickly take on grown-up roles and carry the emotional burden of keeping the family together, too often with no other support.
8. Many children affected by HIV have limited access to health care.
Even without HIV, many families are financially strained and chldren are suffering from common health problems. For treatment, they rely on over-the-counter drugs and any available treatment in their community health center.
9. Children who lose their parents become more vulnerable to exploitation.
Parents are the best protectors of their children. As HIV tears the families apart and financial constraints deepen, children are more likely to feel the need to find some way to earn money. This is particularly so of older children who feel even greater responsibility and their families, exposing them to exploitation on the streets.
10. Young people, who exhibit risk behaviors, know little about HIV and AIDS.
2002 Young Adolescent Fertility and Sexuality Study
- 23% of young Filipinos (15-24 years old) practice premarital sex
- 50% of sexually activing young males have had multiple partners
- 50% of young Filipinos (15-24 years old) know that condom use can reduce the transmission of HIV but the same number believe they could not contract HIV
2003 National Demographic and Health Survey
- Proportion of women using condoms:
1% (20-24 years old); 0.1% (15-19 years old)
Unite for children. Unite against AIDS. |
