HIV/AIDS and vulnerability: sundering the bonds of human society

AIDS orphaning could significantly impact upon societal structures

By: Barnett T
Via: Eldis

This background note, for a UNAIDS workshop on Vulnerability and AIDS, explores how the impact of HIV and AIDS may threaten social development, with major implications for social and political relations at household, community and national level. The paper: describes the nature of HIV and AIDS and why it is a cause for concern; explores the extent of AIDS orphaning; and speculates about the broader implications for public policy and the welfare of children. The author outlines a cycle of AIDS orphaning that results in the basic unit of social structure being threatened, as the bond between grandparents, parents and children is threatened.