Associated Press - October 17, 1998

One foot sticking out of a hole in his blue-and-white sleeper, he smiles at a visitor from between the rails of his crib. Simon is barely 13 months old. Within three years he will probably be dead.

In sub-Saharan Africa's AIDS epidemic, perhaps the cruelest statistic is that nearly 1 million children are infected. Many are among the nearly 8 million young Africans orphaned by AIDS.

But another alarming phenomenon is developing -- more and more AIDS-infected babies are being abandoned.

After Simon was born on Sept. 19, 1997, in a Johannesburg hospital, his AIDS-infected mother walked away and never came back. She had given a false address. Her surname, which Simon inherited, was also probably made up.

Nationwide statistics are not kept. But in Johannesburg alone, 120 abandoned babies were discovered in the first half of 1998. Two-thirds of them were infected with the AIDS virus, social welfare officials say.

"We've found them in dustbins, in bags, in toilets, left on buses, in the bushes," said Capt. Edward Hutcheons of the police department's Child Protection Unit. "One Saturday I had five babies in my car, all found in one day."

The government and private groups are trying to cope.

In November 1995, the Salvation Army converted an old folks home to a 60-bed shelter for abandoned and abused babies. But after a year, the shelter began taking in only abandoned babies with the AIDS virus because there were so many.

Ethembeni house -- "Place of Hope" in the Zulu language -- quickly filled to capacity.

Other shelters have been created. The government also is subsidizing the training of foster parents.

Social workers say some mothers suffering from AIDS or infected with the virus are driven to abandon their babies because they're often single, very sick and lack the money and the will to raise a child.

"Their circumstances are so horrendous that a baby is not something they can deal with," said Beverly Krill, a social worker at Johannesburg General Hospital.

At Ethembeni, the babies get food, a bed and a dose of love.

An AIDS quilt with the names of some of the 36 resident babies who have died adorns the entrance. A crocheted smiling clown decorates the patch with Lerato Lefosa's name. The 4-year old died on Oct. 24, 1997.

"She contracted chicken pox and two days later she was dead," said Ethembeni's director, Tersia Finn, looking at a picture of the smiling youngster. "It was very hard. She would always tug my skirt and dance around me when she saw me."

Finn undergoes counseling to deal with the stresses of her job.

"It's difficult. You care for them for so long and they pass on," she said. "But sometimes they are in such bad shape that it's a relief when they pass on."

But hope does lie within Ethembeni's white stucco walls. Two-thirds of babies who test positive for the AIDS virus at birth later test negative.

Babies who are negative in the second test -- given after four months -- often are adopted or find foster homes.

Those who remain positive -- like Simon -- are rarely adopted and usually die by age 4, said Gail Schultz, an Ethembeni social worker. "People don't want to bond with a baby they know has a terminal disease," she said.
981017
AP981016

Copyright © 1998 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation, and donations from users like you.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1998. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 1998. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .