Soldats
Child Soldiers in the DRC
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Republic of Congo (DRC) where over 2.6 million people are living with
HIV/AIDS. Some one hundred thousand people have died of AIDS and more
than 700,000 children have lost one or both parents to this preventable disease
that, if not tackled directly by government policy, has the potential of evolving
into a raging pandemic. To date only 3% of those needing anti-retroviral
treatment are receiving it.
(click on above photo
for excerpt of film
Awaiting Tomorrow)
The Congolese government, supported by the international community, must
comply with their international obligations to take all necessary measures to
guarantee the rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS, including the right to
health and the right to information on prevention, testing and treatment and the
promises made through the Millenium Development Goals. Act Now to call on
President Joseph Kabila and the Congolese Government to immediately
address this emerging crisis.
FULL STORY
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over 2.6 million people are living
with HIV/AIDS. National prevalence rates are estimated at 4.5%, with rates in
the war-torn east as high as 20%. The destruction caused by HIV/AIDS is
fueled by the conflict and widespread human rights violations, including sexual
violence and coercion faced by women and girls, lack of access to health care
and treatment, abuses against sex workers, and violations of the right of
persons, particularly youth, to information on HIV transmission, prevention
and testing.
While the cost of first line treatment in the DRC is less than a dollar a day per
person, the average income per family in the East is also a dollar per day.
Persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families are therefore faced with the
decision of feeding the family or receiving anti-retroviral treatment. As a result,
only 3% of those needing treatment nationally, are receiving such treatment.
Estimated prevalence rates, especially in the East, are based on small sample
size, this is due in part to the lack of accessible and free testing. The cost of an
HIV/AIDS test is US$3 – well beyond the means of an average family.
Widespread poverty accounts not only for the lack of testing and treatment but
also compounds the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS with affected person
lacking adequate nutrition and basic support.
People living with HIV/AIDS are subject to stigmatization and discrimination in
society, including in the workplace and in access to government services.
Women whose husbands have died of AIDS are regularly rejected by their
families and communities, and their property is frequently taken from them.
Children who have lost parents to AIDS or whose parents are living with the
disease have lost their inheritance rights and have in some cases become more
vulnerable to sexual abuse and police violence as a result of being forced to live
in the streets. Further, the psychological effects of stigmatization causes severe
harm and can lead to depression.
Women and youth are among the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and yet are
provided little or no access to targeted information about transmission,
prevention or treatment. All of these human rights violations cause rapid and
unnecessary deaths. At the end of 2003, some one hundred thousand people
had died of AIDS in the DRC.
The National AIDS Control Commission, created in the DRC in 1987, was
among the first of its kind in Africa to address HIV/AIDS. However, the
endemic conflict limited the implementation of a national strategic plan, which
defined an integrated response to prevention and care. While the 2003 peace
agreement led to the formation of a transitional government, some four million
people have died due to the conflict. To date, insecurity still persists in the East
of the country. On July 31, 2006, the people of the DRC cast the first vote in
presidential elections since independence. None of the presidential candidates
directly addressed human rights in their election platforms and none talked of
the emerging HIV/AIDS crisis. Yet, the crisis is likely to see an explosive
increase in prevalence rates as demobilization and reintegration of combatants
occurs more rapidly. As moves to democratize and demilitarize the country
progress and hope among the population surges, it is crucial to engage all
sectors of society including former combatants, sex workers, youth, women
and girls, returning internally displaced persons and refugees, in the prevention
of HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS not only affects the individual but also has major economic and
social repercussions for communities and nations. It is crucial that the disease
be confronted not only as a public health issue but through an open,
decentralized, multi-sectoral and integrated approach that includes strong
political will, policy and practice. Involving people living with HIV/AIDS in
outreach and advocacy to communities, creating local support groups, and
using existing cultural and religious framework to spread the message are key
factors in reducing prevalence rates.
The Congolese government, supported by the international community, must
comply with their international obligations to take all necessary measures to
guarantee the rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS, including the right to
health and the right to information on prevention, testing and treatment and the
promises made through the Millenium Development Goals.
Act Now to call on the President Joseph Kabila and the Congolese
Government, to immediately address this emerging crisis and guarantee the
rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS in the DRC.
Act Now Link:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/witness/campaign.
jsp?campaign_KEY=4982
Resources
International AIDS Conference – www.aids2006.org
Watchlist on Children in Armed Conflict - www.watchlist.org/reports/dr_congo.
php
Human Rights Watch – www.hrw.org/campaigns/aids
Doctors Without Borders – http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/hiv-
aids/index.cfm
AIDS Alliance http://www.aidsalliance.org/sw6809.asp
AVERT www.avert.org
CAMFED www.camfed.org/html/education_hivaids.html
Save the Children http://www.savethechildren.org/health/hiv_aids/index.asp
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation www.pedaids.org
ActionAid www.actionaid.org/325/hivaids.html
UNAIDS www.unaids.org
UNDP www.undp.org/hiv
WHO www.who.int
UNICEF www.unicef.org/uniteforchildren
