NEWS
Young South Africans Speak Out About AIDS at First National Meeting on Disease for Children
Associated Press (08.24.01)::Mike Cohen

Once too scared to speak out, 16-year-old Jabu told of how her father raped her repeatedly, infecting her with HIV. Hers was one of many stories heard on Friday in South Africa at the first national meeting of children who are HIV-infected or who have relatives with the virus. An estimated 4.7 million South Africans -about 11 percent of the population -are infected with HIV. The country has 700,000 AIDS orphans.
Children ages seven to 18 gathered from across the country to read anonymous testimonials out loud. Participants told of having to leave school to care for their infected siblings. Rejected by their families, others spoke of having to support themselves by collecting firewood and tending cattle. "My relatives discriminate between me and their children," wrote one of the children in a testimonial. "It's like I am a slave."
The South African government has been strongly criticized for an inconsistent policy on combating AIDS and for refusing to provide antiretroviral drugs through the public health system. At Friday's meeting, Dr. Nono Simelela, who heads the health department's AIDS program, told the children the government was doing the best it could.
Also on Friday, South Africa made a verbal agreement with the German drug firm Boehringer-Ingelheim to accept free supplies of its AIDS drug Nevirapine as part of a comprehensive plan to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The government had been criticized for not accepting the company's initial offer to donate the drug last year.

© Speak Out Terms of use