Case studies
China: 'Four Frees and One Care'
Xian Dongfei, age 16, has been living with his neighbours since the death of his parents from AIDS-related illness six years ago. Recently, Dongfei directly benefited from the government initiative "Four Frees and One Care" when he was supported to return to school.
Jean, who lives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is a typical teenager. Typical, except for one thing: his mother and two of his three sisters are HIV positive.
India: Maltati and the PMTCT programme
Maltati, a 25-year-old mother of two, is HIV positive. She found out she was infected when, seven months pregnant with her second child, she went to the hospital. The hospital where Maltati gave birth is one of 37 centres in Andhra Pradesh to offer the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, a programme that is supported by UNICEF.
Malawi: Monica's struggle for education
Monica loves going to school, but she is too poor to attend regularly. Although primary education is free in Malawi, lack of food and clothes keep her out of classes. Monica's mother died five years ago, when Monica was only four years old, and her father died shortly after. The cause was almost certainly AIDS related.
Russia: The Children's Hospital in Chelyabinsk
So far, three-month-old Lika's tender experience of life has been confined to the maternity ward at the Children's Hospital in Chelyabinsk in the southern Urals region of Russia. Born to a mother living with HIV/AIDS who arrived at the hospital to give birth, Lika was abandoned immediately afterwards.
Zimbabwe: Aaron and the Masiye Camp
Aaron Marahahle's life changed dramatically when he lost his father to AIDS-related illness. Recently, though, Aaron was nominated by a local non-governmental organization to attend Masiye Camp in Matobo for orphans and other vulnerable children.
