Protecting Childhood in the AIDS Pandemic

Jody Heymann, MD, PhD, is the Founding Director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University. An internationally renowned researcher on public policy and equity, Heymann has authored more than 170 publications, including ten books. Her work has been featured widely on CNN, Good Morning America, Fox News, and NPR, among other leading national and international media.Lorraine Sherr, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and academic working in London with wide national and international research and policy experience. She has authored over 255 publications on the subject of HIV infection generally and families particularly. She has sat on the World Health Organization's Strategic Organizational committee and has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship for work on mothers and infants in HIV.Rachel Kidman, PhD, is a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University, where her research focuses on the development of appropriate social interventions to help protect the welfare of children affected by AIDS. She has conducted research on health and educational disparities and programs serving vulnerable children and their families in sub-Saharan Africa.

• 1. Meeting the Essential Needs of All Children ; Jody Heymann, Lorraine Sherr, and Rachel Kidman ; Part I. The Critical Context of Children's Lives ; 2. Even When They're Ill: The Central Role of Families in the Lives of Children Affected by AIDS ; Linda M. Richter ; 3. Strength Under Duress: Community Responses to Children's Needs ; Geoff Foster, Nathan Nshakira, and Nigel Taylor ; Part II. Challenges to Child Development ; 4. Early Childhood: The Building Base for the Future ; Patrice L. Engle ; 5. Education in a Pandemic: The Needs of School-age Children ; Xiaoming Li and Yan Guo ; 6. Healthy Minds: Psychosocial Interventions for School-Aged Children ; Lucie D. Cluver, Malega Kganakga, Mark E. Boyes, and Mihyung Park ; 7. Transition into Adulthood: The Changing Needs of Youth ; Simona Bignami-Van Assche and Vinod Mishra ; Part III. Meeting Health Care Needs ; 8. Effective HIV Prevention and Treatment for Pregnant Mothers and Their Children ; Hoosen Coovadia and Marie-Louise Newell ; 9. Breaking the Cycle: Challenges and Solutions in Pediatric HIV Policy ; Liezl Smit, Angela Dramowski, Kevin Clarke, Janine Clayton, Annemadelein Scherer, Amy Slogrove, Happyson Musvosvi, Marina Rifkin, and Mark Cotton ; Part IV. Getting Delivery Done Well ; 10. Choices and Consequences: Should Resources Be Specifically Targeted to Children Affected by AIDS? ; Michelle Adato ; 11. Whose Responsibility is It Anyway? Four Perspectives ; View 1. Moving From Abrogation to Shared Responsibility ; Douglas Webb ; View 2. Responsibility, Accountability, and Government (In)action ; Agnes Binagwaho ; View 3. Children's Rights and the Responsibility of All Stakeholders ; Stefan E. Germann, Stuart Kean, and Rachel Samuel ; View 4. The Responsibility to Not Turn Away ; Chris Desmond

Protecting Childhood in the AIDS Pandemic is a complex book that helps us to spot the invisible vulnerability that challenges the individual, family, community and states to cooperate. It is interesting to follow the authors' claim. They claim that it pays to invest in a safe and healthy childhood because this will in turn lead to positive effects in its entirety, not just locally, but ultimately also globally.