China Commits to Care and Support of All Children Affected by AIDS

Five years have passed but Yang Wen (not her real name), a 14-year-old girl from Henan Province, has not forgotten when she and her little sister lost both their parents to AIDS over a period of one year, "almost overnight we became a pair of orphans. The feelings of being orphans were with us every time we were stuck with homework without knowing who to ask, and when, three times a day, we had to stand on a chair to make our own meals."

Yang Wen was one of many children who lost their parents in a sudden outbreak of the AIDS epidemic in the mid-late 1990s in rural Henan Province. When the entire community was shrouded in fear and myths about AIDS, the government took measures to respond to the needs of children and built "Sunshine Homes" to give children orphaned by AIDS food, shelter and education. "But I was still lonely for my parents and my little sister who was living with relatives", said Yang Wen, at the International Seminar on Children Orphaned and Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS in Henan, a province with a population of 100 million. The seminar was held on the 6-8th of September 2007, with support from UNICEF, by the China Ministry of Civil Affairs，the Office of State Council Working Committee for AIDS Prevention and Control and the Henan Provincial Government.  The Henan policy for children affected by AIDS recognizes that the building of "Sunshine Homes" was an response to an emergency, and now the province is committed to exploring family and community based strategies in responding to children affected by AIDS – including the development of "Sunshine families," which do not remove children from their communities, and strengthen the bonds between the children in the community affected by AIDS – and those children who were not directly affected.

While there are no official data on how many children have been orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS, estimates from academic institutions indicate there are about 140,000 children who lost one or both parents to the disease, and still another half million living with sick parents.

The central government has issued policies for double orphaned like Yang Wen to receive free healthcare, free education, and living support, but implementation varies across the country due to disparities in local capacity and political will, and the still prevalent fear, stigma and discrimination around HIV/AIDS in communities. 

UNICEF Representative to China, Dr. Yin Yin Nwe outlined 4 important areas for the focus of a future policy addressing children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS, "First, we must work to keep parents alive; second we must keep children in school; third, we must not allow AIDS impoverish families and finally we must all work to ensure all vulnerable children, including children affected by AIDS, have the ability to reach their full potential."

The government is now ready to take the next step forward in national legislation and policy development for all children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS. Based on review of the latest Henan policy, experiences were shared and recommendations were made by national experts and also international experts from Kenya, South Africa, Thailand and Switzerland who brought their valuable knowledge and insight from around the world. This “policy and practice brief” will then be shared with Chinese authorities for future national legislation for children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.

"Today is a very auspicious day for the children in China," said Dr. Nwe in her opening speech. Indeed it was for children like Yang Wen, when their sick parents get support to live, become self-sufficient and confident to care for their own children, when communities and relatives are willing to extend their helping hand and give the children a permanent home, and when, with a road paved by the government and the civil society, children like Yang Wen have the power to chart their own course in life.