Friends for Child Development

Supporting children with HIV to stay healthy through better access to treatment, care and ongoing support.

HIV prevenance in Zimbabwe’s Bindura district in Mashonaland Central Province is at 8.3% compared to 7.4% nationally. While anti-retroviral (ARV) coverage among people over 15 is high at 92.7%, only 61.9% of children fourteen and under are on ARVs and many struggle to adhere to treatment. Contributing factors include non-disclosure due to stigma, a lack of understanding about the importance of ARVs, and poor diets caused by limited family resources. This leads to high viral loads among children, causing increased vulnerability to disease and infection, high mortality rates, and poor school attendance.

Friends for Child Development’s Egmont-funded project aims to tackle this by targeting 90 HIV+ children and 60 of their caregivers to improve children’s adherence and the support they receive at home and in their wider communities.

This includes supporting caregivers to rear small livestock and access savings and lending schemes, boosting their income so they can better meet their children's needs and provide HIV+ children with more nutritious diets.

Caregivers are also being enrolled into support groups for those caring for HIV+ children and take part in training in HIV treatment and childhood illnesses, as well as psychosocial support to address stigma. Children who know their status also attend a monthly children’s camp where they are supported to understand their condition, live healthy lives and accept their status.