Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 29 November 2001
"The psychological strain of caring for terminally ill children and coping with their death can be devastating. The stress of taking on the burden of responsibility for orphaned grandchildren is also huge. It is not unusual for grandmothers to be caring for 20 children," said Jennifer Inger, social welfare expert with the Health and Care Department of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Psychological and material support is vital for elderly caregivers, said the International Federation in a statement to mark World AIDS Day.
Families and communities are on the front-line of the fight against HIV/AIDS and it is essential that older people are educated about prevention and are given access to health services in order that they may remain healthy whilst at the same caring for their dying children and their orphaned grandchildren.
The problem is now so acute that a Red Cross Red Crescent Working Group on Children Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS has been established to draw up operational guidelines for programmes which keep children in the community and out of institutions, and to provide support and recognition for the vital role played by elderly care-givers.
Inger cites in particular the Zimbabwe Red Cross as a good example of an integrated approach to care in the community. Zimbabwe Red Cross volunteers not only attend to the needs of dying AIDS patients but establish a relationship with the whole family to ensure that there is adequate support, whether surviving children are looked after by grandparents, or the children themselves become heads of household.
"Often the community will allocate a field whose produce will go towards helping those families left without a breadwinner or to support elderly looking after orphaned grandchildren. Similarly, in Malawi, Red Cross community gardens help to avoid these children and their elderly carers becoming trapped in poverty. Local solutions are essential to tackle this problem," said Inger.
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