Elderly Carry the Burden of Aids

Nairobi:At 70 years of age, Eunice Wangechi is still engaged in back-breaking chores to bring up her grandchildren, just as she did to raise her own children many years ago.

After her daughter died of Aids, Wangechi had to bring up the two orphans she left behind.

She is one of Africa's ever rising number of older people having to raise orphans left behind by their parents, according to a new study on aged people and their struggles within the Aids pandemic.

In their report titled Forgotten families: older people caring for orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/Aids, two charities are asking African governments to move swiftly to save the older generation the agony of caring for Aids orphans.

The report by charities HelpAge International and the International HIV/Aids Alliance, unveils a grim picture of impoverished grandparents toiling to bring up orphans in the absence of support by governments.

It is to be presented at the ongoing ICASA conference in Nairobi, where caring for those living with HIV/Aids and for orphans is one of the main themes.

"Older carers, especially older women who are the majority, are among the poorest groups in society," says Tavengwa Nhongo, Africa regional representative of HelpAge International.

"But if they are supported, they can give orphans the care they need, and the children in turn can help the older carers."

In Kenya, many of the old people live in rural areas, where agriculture - their only means of livelihood - has crumbled.

A recent study of older people whose relatives are affected by HIV/Aids in the country shows that although the average minimum required household expenditure was approximately Sh6,800 per month, the average income of most of the older-headed households was a meagre Sh2,400.

They have been forced to sell their land and other meagre assets in the struggle to meet their own basic needs. The implications when another load of caring for ailing grandchildren is added onto their shoulders are worrying.

And yet, other attendant costs of bringing up young ones, including food, health care, school fees and uniforms, are also being borne by the old.

Registering Aids orphans in the so-called children's homes has not worked. Many of them are short of funds, with reports that some children face starvation and have no beds to sleep on.

They operate on skeletal staff, mostly volunteers, and food donated by Good Samaritans may not meet nutritional standards for HIV positive people.

In the absence of proper nutrition, the youngsters end up becoming more vulnerable to diseases.

In one home rehabilitating street children in Nyeri Town, they have been known to go begging in the streets in the company of volunteers.

In addition, children growing up in such homes are denied a family environment, which is a crucial aspect of development.

They need love, security and emotional and psychological support from people they can confide in, all which lack in those institutions.

But Kenya and Africa are not alone in the mess. Recent World Bank studies found that in 20 out of 28 countries in Africa and Latin America, more than one fifth of orphaned children were living with their grandparents.

In South Africa and Uganda it was 40 per cent, while in Zambia, Uganda and Tanzania, grandparents made up the single largest category of carers of orphans.

Current global figures estimate that 16 million children under 15 have already lost either one or both parents to Aids.

Older women are particularly affected because cultural values deny them access to resources that they are entitled to. In many African societies, women lack the right to inherit land and property.

When such is the case, children orphaned by Aids may not know, or may be denied information about their deceased parents' shares in community savings schemes.

They feel neglected. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," grandmother, Akeya, 74, told researchers. "These children's parents were supposed to be taking care of me. Now they are dead and I am nursing their children." She is looking after 10 grandchildren.

Despite the gloom, hope lingers following a revelation by the government that it is is working out a policy to improve the lives of aged people.

"We hope when ready, the policy will eliminate barriers that discriminate and impoverish elderly persons," says Mrs Alicen Chelaite, the assistant minister for Gender, Sports and Culture.

The draft is looking into the involvement of the elderly in economic activities, such as savings schemes, and inheritance rights.

This is in line with the government's poverty reduction policy.

"Of course, it will go a long way in improving their health, and that of those they may be caring for. We are building a road and being very focused to ensure it takes us to our destination," says Mrs Chelaite.

However, the policy is still in the drafting stage, where experts in law and organisations working to improve rural communities are assisting to work it out.

In their report, the two organisations recommend that older people be included in HIV/Aids education, which has in the past focused on young people.




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