The phenomenon described as a “child-headed household” was first noted in the late 1980s in the Rakai district of Uganda. Up until this point it was assumed that ‘there is no such thing as an orphan in Africa’, as children without parents would be easily and naturally looked after within the households of their extended families which traditionally acted as the continent’s social security system - protecting vulnerable community members, caring for the poor and sick and transmitting traditional social values and education.
The recent magnitude of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, has resulted in dramatic consequences for parents and children. According to the National Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s Policy, Uganda has lost about one million people to AIDS and an estimated 940,000 children – 14% of the child population - had been orphaned by AIDS by the year 2003.
UNAIDS calls for two major interventions for children affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic: relief interventions focusing on the short term; and community development interventions focusing on long-term strategies. Yet with the HIV/AIDS pandemic worsening every year, community development activities related to HIV/AIDS are in danger of being pushed to the background in order to focus on the “short-term emergency” of HIV/AIDS.
This submission argues that even in communities under pressure, both interventions are needed in order to make a real difference in the lives of children affected by the pandemic. This submission describes Plan’s experiences with short-term relief interventions and long-term community development interventions for child-headed households over two periods (2001-2002, 2002-2004) in Uganda. The purpose is to inform future interventions by sharing experiences and lessons learned from these periods; the paper concludes with a section of key recommendations for helping child-headed households.
©Plan
