Download Natalie Prisco October 17, 2007

Natalie Prisco
New Hyde Park Memorial High School
UNICEF
Orphans and HIV/AIDS
Brazil
Since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989,
numerous efforts have advanced the legal status of children. IN discussing the issue of
HIV/AIDS and orphans, one must consider all the effects that this epidemic had on
children and the importance of the child’s rights. The United Nations Children’s found
categorizes children who lost their parents in four groups to identify and separate orphans
with different experiences. Single orphans are children who lost one parent.
Government programs and non-governmental organizations often provide adequate
support for young children in terms of basic needs. Orphans are often subjected to forced
labor or prostitution as they live on the streets.
In Brazil the rate of people living with HIV/AIDS is 660,000 (2003 est.) and the
number of people that died with HIV/AIDS is 15,000 (2003 etc.) Brazil is the epicenter
of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South America and accounts for 57 percent of all AIDS
cases in Latin America and the Caribbean. AIDS was first reported in Brazil in 1983;
through mid-2002, the Ministry of Health had reported nearly 240,000 cumulative cases.
The high number of AIDS cases in Sources: UNAIDS, U.S. Census Bureau part reflects
historically more accurate reporting in Brazil than in many other countries in the region.
Nevertheless, HIV prevalence in Brazil is higher than in most other neighboring
countries. At the end of 2001, an estimated 610,000 individuals were living with
HIV/AIDS. Among populations at greatest risk, prevalence is considerably higher, at 42
percent. The children orphaning major impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is still to come
in Brazil. This study aimed at identifying the characteristics of AIDS orphans in a city in
southern Brazil. A cross-sectional study was made among children aged 0-15 years
Possible solutions to solve the problem in Brazil with orphans, and HIV/AIDS is
to spread awareness and make the people understand that HIV/AIDS is spreading very
quickly, and if children are getting it and then they will die because they aren’t receiving
the proper treatment. Brazil needs to get the orphans off the streets and into shelters so
they will be safe and would not be forced into child labor or being forced into
prostitution. If HIV/AIDS are spreading quickly in Brazil, Brazil needs the right medical
centers and the right medical treatment, even if the medicine would be temporary, at least
the medicine would stop the viruses from spreading so quickly and doctors will have time
to think or new cures or other temporary ideas. Adults need to aware that they need to be
smart in the decisions they make, doctors need to have HIV/AIDS test that adults can
take before they take in sexual activity and before they think of have a baby and that will
prevent the rate of babies being born with the viruses already in their bodies. This will
also slow done the rate of deaths because the more people are learning about HIV/AIDS
they will make better decisions and they will take care of their bodies better.