Children and AIDS

Margaret Lombe, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the Boston College Graduate School of Social Work. She is also a faculty associate at the Center for Social Development at Washington, University. Her area of expertise is in international social development with an emphasis on social inclusion/exclusion and capacity building. Alex Juma Ochumbo, Ph.D., is the vice president for Capacity Building and Research at the Ethiopian Catholic University of St. Thomas Aquinas (ECUSTA). His main interest is in the area of sustainability of programs to assist HIV/AIDS Children and Orphans in sub-Saharan Africa.

• Contents: Preface; Introduction. Section One Overview of the Issue: AIDS related vulnerabilities among children in Sub-Saharan Africa: an overview, Lyndsey McMahan, Chiedza Mufunde and Margaret Lombe. Section Two The Living Arrangement of Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: Fostered children in Botswana, Tapologo Maundeni, Naomi Seboni and Ogar Rapinyana; Experiences of children in residential care: the case of Kenya, Protus Lumiti, Alex J. Ochumbo and Nicholas Syano; The living arrangements of vulnerable children in Zambia, Margaret Lombe and Theresa Lungu. Section Three Responding to Orphaned and Vulnerable Children: An Overview of Public and Private Initiatives: Responses to orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in Botswana, Naomi Seboni, Tapoplogo Maundeni, Ogar Rapinyana and Mosidi Tseleng Cynthia Mokotedi; Responding to orphaned and vulnerable children in Kenya, Alex Ochumbo, Protus Lumiti, and Nicholas Syano; Responding to orphaned and vulnerable children in Zambia, Theresa Lungu, Chrisann Newransky and Aakanksha Sinha. Section Four Children Speak Out: Children speak out: is anyone listening?, Margaret Lombe and Alex Ochumbo. Section Five Making Children Matter: Vulnerability among children and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Margaret Lombe and Harriet Mabikke; Conclusion: closing thoughts, Margaret Lombe, Harriet Mabikke and Alex Ochumbo. Index.

’...challenges our current understanding of vulnerable children in Africa, brings to the fore the need to fully engage such children in programs designed to improve their wellbeing, and challenges current policies and programming for these children. I find it thought provoking and clearly forward thinking as a tool to assist all those that care for vulnerable children.’ Godfrey Biemba, Boston University, USA and Country Director, Zambia Centre for Applied Health Research and Development, Zambia ’Although the incidence of AIDS cases across Africa has plateaued, the authors point out that the number of Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) continues to grow by leaps and bounds...a rarely reported fact! These researchers give us a rich and important scholarly work. Importantly, they seek out the voices of OVCs, reporting detailed interview findings that help the reader grasp how these children experience both vast unmet needs and yet are incredibly hopeful and resilient as well. A masterful work!’ Vincent J. Lynch, Boston College School of Social Work, USA; Founder and Chair, The Annual National Conference on Social Work and HIV/AIDS (USA)