Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies - 6 March 2003
The backbone of the family, women not only bear the greatest burden of caring for sick family members and children orphaned by AIDS, they are also more vulnerable to infection. Out of an estimated 42 million people living with HIV/AIDS - 19.2 million are women. In Africa and the Middle East, women are now significantly outstripping men in infection rates and the trend is rising elsewhere across the globe.
"More and more women dying from AIDS is synonymous with an increase in the number of children orphaned by AIDS, shattered socio-economic structures and a gradual loss of cultural continuity," says Jennifer Inger, social welfare advisor at the International Federation. "In sub-Saharan Africa, women know that traditional support structures are collapsing and it is a knowledge that leaves them feeling even more powerless in the face of death, unable to help their children."
In sub-Saharan Africa, where women account for 58 per cent of adults with HIV/AIDS, work is now being done to empower women by giving them a voice to continue communicating with their children - long after their death. In Zimbabwe, the Red Cross is running a "Memory Box" programme where women and children work together to make a treasure chest of family information which not only helps to lessen women's trauma at leaving children orphaned, but also helps the children maintain a sense of history and belonging essential for cultural continuity.
The Memory Box is not only an attempt to keep alive the memory of a mother, but also to help in the AIDS education battle by talking about the disease and thus breaking the stigma around it - a major cause of the spread of the pandemic. This is especially vital in a region where women account for up to 80 per cent of food production and where the impact of the disease has been to turn a drought into a major food crisis threatening 14 million people.
"Although organizations such as the International Federation carry out large-scale HIV/AIDS prevention programmes that try to remedy ignorance about how the disease spreads, more work is needed to lessen women's vulnerability to the disease," said Bongai Mundeta, International Federation HIV/AIDS coordinator for southern Africa. "Programmes such as the Memory Box are a step in the right direction but we have a long way to go."
For further information, or to set up interviews, please contact:
Jemini Pandya, Press Officer - Tel: + 41 22 730 45 70 / + 41 79 217 33 74 Media Service Duty Phone - Tel: + 41 79 416 38 81
A VIDEO NEWS RELEASE ON THE MEMORY BOX PROJECT IN ZIMBABWE IS AVAILABLE TO BROADCASTERS UPON REQUEST. PLEASE CONTACT THE ABOVE NUMBERS.
030306
IF030303
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