Abstract
This review article summarizes the current knowledge about children born or living in families affected by HIV, a topic of recent interest in the HIV field. It also presents a case study of a child's narrative about the implications of living with a HIV parent. The case study is part of a larger study involving both parents and children living with HIV in Bangladesh. The paper discusses the implications of HIV for children, their families, and social services to gain a better understanding of some of the social issues, such as stigma, associated with this illness. The paper recommends that the development of effective social and service interventions using appropriate language, information, and access to social support services are urgently needed to reduce the concerns and increases the life opportunities of children living in HIV families.
Highlights
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a major public health concern with health and social impacts
Data further suggest that 150,000 children under 15 years of age are living with HIV in the South Asia region, along with 780,000 children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS [6]
This study found that place of residence, lack of social support, and caregivers’ HIV-related stigma of HIV-positive parents were closely related with discriminatory attitudes towards HIV-affected children
Summary
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a major public health concern with health and social impacts. While there has been a worldwide decrease in new HIV infections among children in recent years, largely due to improvements in access to services preventing transmission of the virus from mother to her child during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and during breastfeeding, it is estimated that approximately 1,000 babies are infected through mother to her child transmission worldwide each day [4,5]. Data further suggest that 150,000 children under 15 years of age are living with HIV in the South Asia region, along with 780,000 children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS [6]. In Bangladesh, the focus of the current research, the estimated number of adults and children living with HIV was 9,500 [4,100-97,000] and HIV prevalence among young people (15-24) is below 0.1% [7]. The key words for the search were HIV, AIDS, HIV-infected/ positive people/parents, HIV-infected/positive/affected children, HIV stigma and discrimination, families, Bangladesh, and South Asia. The key themes found in the literature centre around issues relating to psychological and physical problems, social stigma and discrimination, poverty, and quality of parent-child relationships, and these are briefly summarized below
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