With high
priority of The National Government and International Stakeholders across the
Globe, there are negative outcomes of the growing of orphans and vulnerable
children (OVC) population worldwide. It is recognized that such negative
outcome is of a result of the issue with the social, economic and human rights
dimensions (Boston University Center for
Global Health and Development: Initiative for Integrated Community Welfare
Nigeria, 2009).
With evidence
based data, there is a huge proportion of orphans and vulnerable children. With
the population of 187, 430, 718; the number of adults and children living with
HIV is one of the highest in the world (Boston University Center for
Global Health and Development: Initiative for Integrated Community Welfare
Nigeria, 2009).
In Nigeria
there has been a response to crisis of orphans and vulnerable children due to
HIV/AIDS in largely community driven with the extended family providing the
safety net for protection; care and support (HIV/AIDS: Problems Of Orphans;
Vulnerable Children in Nigeria, 2013).
In 2003, 7
million of the population were orphans with an approximate of 1.8million which
were affected with HIV/AIDS. The increasing level of poverty; as result of low
resources, lack of basic credits and employment facilities, has jeopardized the
realization of the wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable children in Nigeria (HIV/AIDS:
Problems Of Orphans; Vulnerable Children in Nigeria, 2013).
In Nigeria,
10.7% of the 69 million children are vulnerable (UNICEF, 2007), 10% of children are
orphans, (7% in North-West to 17% in South-East), 10% in Rural, 11% in Urban, Benue state has the highest prevalence of orphans (25%), followed by
Akwa Ibom (22%); while Niger state has the lowest (2.7%). Benue state has the
highest prevalence of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) aged 6-17yrs (49%),
followed by Imo (45%), and Rivers (41%); with Kwara having the lowest (9%)
(NSAA, 2008). One of the important challenges in countries like Nigeria that
have increased number of children infected or affected with the HIV/AIDS
epidemic, is the need to assist families and communities to care for these
children ((NDHS), 2008).
In some of the world’s poorest
countries in Sub-Sharan Africa, the adverse effects of the AIDS Epidemic are
felt more severely, where its consequences have been as upsurge in the sum of children
orphaned as a result of death of both parent because of its complication.
Orphans are not only affected by HIV/AIDS, but also makes children more
vulnerable in a number of ways (The Impact of HIV/AIDS on children in Nigeria, 2015).
HIV/AIDS significantly affects
children’s life and families of children’s caregivers. Parents of HIV positive
children go through trauma of sickness and eventually death. Certain children
carry the burden of caring for a sick parent and this may result to drop-out of
school, and carry on the responsibilities of an adult (NSAA, 2008). Due to parental HIV-related illness costs,
and eventually death, this substantially reduces household resources, causes
unemployment, or renders a caregiver jobless; which may lead to poor health
care of a child, lack of education, and the nutritional status of child
significantly declines.
Recent studies show that 17.5 million
children are orphans or vulnerable children: 2.5million of these orphans are
HIV/AIDS positive in Nigeria. The capacity and resources of the individuals and
households have been overextended by the growing number of OVC and the
complexity of their needs (Onoh, 2014)
Also, gender-related stereotypes;
gender profiling and inequalities between men and women contribute to the
public health problems in Nigeria (Effanga, 2014).
The
OVC situation in the context of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria:
Orphans and children in very
difficult circumstances have been of major concern in most child-enrolled
programs before the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The OVC issue existed long before due to
the fact that there are other causes of orphanage and vulnerability; which has
significantly worsened by the impact of the AIDS Epidemic ((UMN), 2007).
Recent estimates show that there are
about 1,800 new HIV infections every day, and 1,400 deaths from AIDS-related
illness among children below the age of 15 (UNAIDS, 2007). Children between this age are victimized for
one in six AIDS-related deaths worldwide, and one in seven new HIV infections
mostly through mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Many children are further
infected with HIV through parental illness, or death from infection((UMN), 2007).
2006 Global AIDS epidemic shows that Nigeria
had 930,000 children orphaned by AIDS at the end of 2005. New estimates show
that 1.8-2million children are orphaned by AIDS in Nigeria, and 1 in every 10 households provides care for an
orphan((UMN), 2007).
Socio-economic
Ramifications to the OVC Issue:
Children suffer from psychological because
of the experience of poverty resulting from loss of family income. Social
dislocation, stigma, and discrimination, loss of childhood: children having the
responsibilities of a caregiver towards a sick parent; siblings or other family
members with HIV or anyother poor health conditions((UMN), 2007).
OVC
Problem in Nigeria:
Globally, the position of youths echoes a
deeping and widening neglect and invincibility of children in Nigeria. There
has been a high steady prevalence of HIV/AIDS in 2005 as it declined from 5.8%
to 4.45 in 2001, since the HIV/AIDS
incidence of a 13 years old child in 1986; which it has been estimated that a
million chidren orphaned by AIDS were living in Nigeria (Onyebuchi, HI/AIDS: Problems of Orphans and
Vulnerable Children in Nigeria, 2003).
The impact of HIV/AIDS has had an increasing
rate on a number of orphans: those who lost their parents to AIDS as a result;
leaving them vulnerable. Although there is an insufficient available data,
there has been a call of desperation for those who are social excluded,
exploitation, and abuse facing a large percentage of orphaned children in
Nigeria (Onyebuchi, HI/AIDS: Problems of Orphans and
Vulnerable Children in Nigeria, 2003).
1.
39% of children are involved in
sexualactivities
2.
43% of women aged 20-24 were married
before the age of 18;
3.
High rate of infant, child and
adolescent mortality
4.
Unavailabilty of healthcare services
5.
Lack of education, poor school
performance, the education enrollment is low
6.
Rejection of intra household:
maltreatment, and abuse/harassment from other peers
With the estimation of previous studies, 40%
children may have been involved in child trafficiking, drug trafficking, or
engaged themselves in prostitution to earn money. An estimated population of
50million Nigerians below the age of 18 are from low income population, and 40%
of them do not acquire primary education due to discrimination due to the
result of HIV/AIDS (Onyebuchi, HI/AIDS: Problems of Orphans and
Vulnerable Children in Nigeria, 2003).
Afghanistan has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world, before the Taliban came to power. Afghanistan a country with 23 million inhabitants, is one of the poorest countries in the world. It has low literacy rate among women. Before the Taliban came to power, Afghanistan women participated as women legislators in the parliament, in the 1970s,and helped draft the 1964 constitution. There were teachers, government workers, and medical doctors, in the early 1980s. They also worked as professors, lawyers, judges, journalists, writers and poets 
