Older People Caring for HIV Orphans

Older People Caring for HIV Orphans & Vulnerable Children
By James Achanyi-Fontem,
President, FECABPA
As the HIV/AIDS epidemic strikes at the heart of families and community support structures, large numbers of older people are assuming responsibility for bringing up orphans and vulnerable children. Family structures are changing. Often the middle generations – both men and women – are completely absent, leaving the old and young to support each other. This means that families of older careers and orphans and vulnerable children are compelled to take on new roles.
Current global figures estimate that 16 million children under 15 have already lost either one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. Older people make up a significant proportion of the poorest and HIV/AIDS exacerbates the extreme poverty faced by older-headed households. This compromises the ability of older carers to care adequately for children as they face difficulties obtaining sufficient food, clothes and shelter, and limits their access to health care and education services. The financial burden of caring for children means older carers are often forced to sell their assets or borrow money.
The scarcity of HIV/AIDS information for older people limits their ability to protect themselves and their families. Though older people should be playing a key role in HIV/AIDS prevention within their communities and families, their role as counsellors and educators has not been sufficiently recognised in community-based and national HIV/AIDS prevention programmes.
The trauma resulting from stigma of being affected by HIV/AIDS results to high levels of exclusion, for older people and for orphans and vulnerable children, leaving them ashamed and alone. Some of them feel they are failing in their role as carers because they are unable to protect their family from social isolation.
A solution to this situation is the forging of mutual relationships, even when economic crisis undermine these relationships, because the advantages of keeping children with their remaining family members whenever it is possible are evident. If appropriate support is available, older people and orphans and vulnerable children can overcome some of the challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Safety Net
Social protection in the form of a low level of income guarantee, would go a long way to offset the additional financial burdens experienced by older people as carers of orphans and vulnerable children.
Access to education
Orphans and vulnerable children experience great difficulty accessing education services. The lack of free primary education and the lack of means to pay for school fees remain serious problems. Flexible education services needed to be created to ensure that all children, including orphans and vulnerable children have access to education.
Targeting HIV/AIDS Information
Older people’s roles as leaders and educators must be harnessed to support HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts. Seeing the impact of HIV/AIDS on their communities, many older people are keen to receive information and education about it in order to protect their families and themselves.
Psychosocial trauma
A major problem for those affected by HIV/AIDS is the stigma and discrimination they face. HIV/AIDS has often been considered a form of punishment for wrongdoing, and is associated with promiscuity and witchcraft.
This often results in acute levels of exclusion for older people and orphans living with, or related to, people living with HIV/AIDS. Social ties and traditional support mechanisms weaken when ignorance and stigma marginalise a family affected by HIV/AIDS, leaving them feeling ashamed and alone. And many older people feel they are failing in their role as a carer because they are unable to protect their family from this kind of isolation.
Building awareness
Open community discussions led by local leaders, as well as awareness-raising campaigns can go a long way to improve understanding of the causes and impacts of HIV/AIDS. Some community initiatives are developing innovative ways to express openly the issues related to HIV/AIDS. They aim to integrate affected children and older people through community events such as story telling, drama and children’s drawings.

Men Share Tasks With Women

Changing Traditional Responsibilities of Men and Women
By James Achanyi-Fontem
President, FECABPA
A man being busy in the farm without the partner does not mean she is lazy and is not doing her work. While the man continues the work in the farm, the woman could be marketing harvested crops. Generally during harvest, food accumulates in bags at homes and some have to be sold to create space, especially when maize and bean crops have the same harvest cycle. Some crop is stored for use by the family and the extra yield is taken to the market by the woman to sell in town, where the prices are slightly higher than in the village.
By sharing responsibilities does not necessarily mean giving women much attention, as some people may think. This can be explained by the fact that a good woman will usually use the money she brings home from the market to pay school fees or to take the children to the health centre or hospital when they are ill. She also buys things needed on the farm and sometimes she even gives her mother-in-law some extra money to buy sugar for her husband’s tea.
Generally when a woman thinks of the family first, she does not need to be told how she uses the money she earns through her sweat. Women are forgetting the old ways already. Very often nowadays, women join women's groups, run their own businesses and take money to the bank.
The traditions are changing, not only for women, but for men too. The men who are family heads used to have many cattle which they took care of each day. They would wake up very early each morning and return later in the day. At night they would protect the household from thieves and wild animals.
The lives of men today are different from those of their fathers'. Young persons don't even live in the village any longer; instead they go far away to work in the cities. There is rural exodus, and they do not return home to visit or send money to their parents as in the past. Some leave their wives and children remain in the village without protection. This is all the more reason for women to work hard on the farm.
In Cameroon, women are working hard on the farms and taking care of the children and old people. Apart from the fields and the animals cared for, they go to market where they work and earn money from selling their extra crops. When the women return home from the market, they must gather firewood and water, wash clothes, and prepare the evening meal. This is too much work for any woman.
Some men, on the other hand in the Central Africa Region, just stay at home doing nothing and waiting for the woman, on the pretext that she has not told him that she needs help on the farm. This is behaviour needs to be changed and we need to encourage sharing of responsibilities between the men and the women. For more contact: James Achanyi-Fontem, P.O. Box 1460 Douala, Littoral Region, Cameroon Tel: 00237 77758840 Email:camlink2001@yahoo.com Return to http://cameroonlink.blogspot.com
For information on the World Breastfeeding Week, click on the following link - http://www.worldbreastfeedingweek.net/wbw2008/cameroon.htm

Cameroon Link Profile

About Cameroon Link
Cameroon Link is a registered charity not-for-profit organisation involved in volunteers’ socio-cultural promotion of community health development through women’s empowerment, human assistance advocacy, information, education and communication on human rights of the woman and the child. It is also involved in nutrition promotion, especially in the area of Infant and Young Child Feeding. It was created on the 9th September 1991 and the head office is implanted in Grand Hangar-Bonabéri (Nouvelle Route) in the Douala City neighbourhood.
It was founded by a professional dialogue group of communication specialists, journalists, health and social welfare workers, due to the crucial lack of adequate and good circulation of information on community health development issues, social welfare, infant and young child nutrition and food-self sufficiency in Cameroon. Cameroon Link coordinates the Federation of Cameroon Breastfeeding Promotion Association (FECABPA) and Cameroon Association of Newspaper Journalists, (CANJ). It was officially incorporated through its registration on the 23rd November 1992, within the frame work of the law N° 053/90 of 19th December 1990 on the creation of association.
Cameroon Link NGO holds the official registered reference n°251/RDDA/C.19/BAPP attributed by the SDO for Wouri Division, Richard MOTA, Senior Civil Administrator of Exceptional Class. Cameroon Link acquired from the Ministry of Women's Affairs a protocol letter of collaboration registered under the reference n°. 00199 signed on the 19th June 1997 by the Minister of Women's Affairs, Mrs. YAOU Aïssatou.
Another protocol letter of collaboration with the Ministry of the Public Health referenced N°. E32/L/MSP/BG/DSC/B.SIDA of 16th February 1998 was signed by the Secretary of State, HAYATOU Alim. The Registration Certificate as an NGO, N°: 98/RC/GPLI/SG/DAJ of 8th February 1995 was obtained from the Littoral Governor’s Office in Douala.
Strategic Framework
The vision of Cameroon Link is of a nation in which people do not die of treatable diseases and lack of adequate nutrition. This means a nation where communities have brought self-food sufficiency deficiencies, maternal and infant malnutrition, and HIV/AIDS under control through preventing, accessing and providing care and support, and alleviating the impact of any epidemic. Cameroon Link’s vision goes together with values. For this reason its activities build on human rights, public health and socio-economic development approaches. The work of Cameroon Link is underpinned by a set of shared values, which make its team to believe that:
• The lives of all human beings are of equal value. Unequal power relations increase people's vulnerability to common diseases. These arise, in particular, from poverty and the abuse of people's human rights. Gender, religion, class, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation are all sources of vulnerability and unequal power in our societies.
• Everyone has the right to access the information and services they need. People should have access to accurate and complete information about HIV prevention, comprehensive prevention programmes, and initiatives that promote the self-determination, dignity and quality of life for people living with common infections, and for groups who are likely to affect, or be affected by the spread of HIV/AIDS. People have the right to access AIDS care and treatment and appropriate health and social services, including treatment and palliative care for those with AIDS. Sickle Cell Disorder which is common in Africa has not got the full attention of decision makers for the problem to be considered a public health issue.
The work of Cameroon Link is guided by the belief in the importance of meaningfully involving all vulnerable people, particularly those living with HIV and AIDS, sickle cell disorders and malnutrition in all aspects of the response to the health issues, ensuring that communities play a central role in the response to these issues, challenging dogma and discrimination.
By getting into partnership with the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN Africa), Federation of Cameroon Breastfeeding Promotion Associations, FECABPA, other national and international organisations, Cameroon Link aimed at making sure that its initiatives are driven by evidence of “what works” for Cameroon like in other African countries and the rest of the world.
Cameroon Link takes a gender approach to health issues as a means of acknowledging the role of both women and men in meeting the challenges that surround us. Reducing the vulnerability of children and young people in Cameroon and other parts of the world, and involving them in planning, implementing and evaluating sex education, sexual and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS and sickle cell disorder prevention with care programmes, as well as being accountable to the people we work to support and to those who support our work is capital for our success in the years ahead.
In trying to fulfil this mission, It strongly believes that we are also contributing towards achieving the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, Infant and Young Child Feeding, the prevention of Sickle Cell Disorders of the United Nations General Assembly Special Sessions and to the Millennium Development Goals.
Cameroon Link remains a national initiative of people, organisations and communities working towards a shared vision by supporting effective community responses to Infant and Young Child Feeding, Sickle Cell Disorder, HIV and AIDS. It operates through forged partnerships, shared knowledge, accessing financial resources where possible, and offering technical assistance through capacity building to women and youths’ groups. Cameroon joined the WABA Men’s Initiative race of challenges with its leader coordinating global initiatives and activities in May 2008..
By the organisational structure of Cameroon Link and the involvement of the media for communication purposes, it is recognised to have great social mobilisation capacities for penetration of the grassroots populations. Cameroon Link uses the approaches of community mobilisation that take into account the roles of all stakeholders. All activities of Cameroon Link are designed with and executed with representatives of the beneficiary communities. The NGO offers its technical know-how and services to other groups and organisations through information exchange, capacity building training and consultations. It operates a counselling, documentation and training centre in at the head office in Grand Hangar – Bonabéri, in the neighbourhood of Douala City, considered the economical capital of Cameroon with a very thick population estimated already at over two million inhabitants.
Beneficiary Target Groups: Women, Fathers, Youths & Media
Activities
• Collection and publication of health development information
• Promotion of community health activities through IEC, Training and Advocacy
• Animation of Training at Documentation Centre in Bonabéri-Douala
• Organisation of advocacy conferences, and open-door activities on protection of street children, Women’s Reproductive Health, Infant and Young Child Feeding, Nutrition and HIV/AIDS prevention
• Training of community health workers on social change through behaviour change communication strategies.
• Mobilisation of funds and material resources for the prevention of HIV, assistance to infected persons and rehabilitation of AIDS Orphans and street children in emergency.
• Collaboration with volunteers on community development participative research strategies.
• Organisation of home visits and assistance of integrated vulnerable street children.
• Promotion of Exclusive Breastfeeding of babies for the first six months
• Promotion of nutrition and dietary activities within the food-self sufficiency programme
• Participation in Infant and Young Child Feeding emergency support
• Advocacy for the promotion of the International Code on the marketing of breast milk substitutes.
• Training of volunteer - community health workers on the organisation of social mobilisation, peer education, home visits and cares.
• Promotion of Psycho-social support and assistance
• Acquisition of means of communication and transport for volunteer health workers
• Production and multiplication of education materials for out reach activities.
Contact Person:
James Achanyi-Fontem
National Coordinator,
Cameroon Link
P.O. Box 1460 Douala,
Littoral Region,
Cameroon
Tel: (237) 77 75 88 40
Fax:(237) 33 39 13 56
Email: camlink99@gmail.com
Web site: http://cameroonlink.blogspot.com
Youtube: http://uk.youtube.com/camlink99
For information on the World Breastfeeding Week, please click on the following link -http://www.worldbreastfeedingweek.net/wbw2008/cameroon.htm

FECABPA Annual General Meeting 2009

2nd FECABPA AGM Holds In Douala
By Alice Ndeloh, COGESID Bonaberi
Health organisations (NGO, CBO and FBO) affiliated to the Federation of Cameroon Breastfeeding Promotion Associations, FECABPA, met in Douala on March 24, 2009 to evaluate activities of the national breastfeeding movement and to deliberate on a new action plan during its second annual general meeting. FECABPA was registered by the Cameroon government on the 10th December 2007 under the reference no. 00135/RDA/JO6/BAPP as a plat form for exchanges and negotiations between associations on the one hand, and between FECABPA and other partners.
During the 2nd annual general meeting, members deliberated on the WABA joint statement based on the workshop and Global Breastfeeding Partners Meeting, GBPM, VII in Penang, Malaysia in October 2008. Participants endorsed WABA’s joint statement, with the initiation of its action plan for 2009/2010 within the context of the resolutions and recommendations of the GBPM VII 2008.
Delegates at the FECABPA AGM from AFFE, ASSF, COGESID, OPTIMEO, MALEO Santé +, NOLFOWOP, Alternative Santé, MUTSAN, FFF-C and Cameroon Link received highlights on the Men’s initiative and activity sheet, the current One Million Campaign launched by IBFAN Asia, WABA Global Forum 3 preparation in Quebec, Canada in 2010. A call for active preparation and participation when the time comes was made by the coordinator of WABA MWG.
Participants received WABA WBW notebooks carrying the beautiful photos of the entries for the world breastfeeding week competition 2008 under the theme “Mother Support: Going for the Gold”. It was made known that WABA received a total of 198 entries and many of them depicted various forms of support to the breastfeeding mother.
According to the editor’s note by the International Coordinator of WBW, Julianna Lim Abdullah, all were beautiful meaningful and touching pictures and the panel of judges had a difficult time selecting the ten winning photos. It is for this reason that WABA increased the prize money and twelve winning photos were selected.
The winning photos featured in the WABA WBW materials including action folders, poster and banner. To show case the photos in a notebook aimed at highlighting efforts by breastfeeding activists around the world and to encourage more to join in the protection, promotion and support movement. Those who received the notebooks in Cameroon expressed their thanks and gratitude to WABA to the continuous support their country activities.
During the plenary exchanges, emphasis was put on the promotion of mother support groups and how to consolidate achievements. An exhaustive report on the breastfeeding counseling training conducted by the ministry of public health to capacity leaders of infant and young child feeding associations in Cameroon. Mrs. Lissouck Marie Germaine of NOLFOWOP acknowledged that the sessions were interactive, diverse and rich in information learning content.

WBW 2009 Theme

Members of FECABPA were informed about the publication by WABA of the theme for the World Breastfeeding week 2009. The theme is “Breastfeeding – A Vital Emergency Response. Are You Ready?” The theme is explained in detail on the WABA WBW calendar 2009 distributed during the annual general assembly. Some members had already downloaded the calendar in English on the WABA web site.
Participants at the session made suggestions on doable actions within the period of preparation of the WBW while waiting for the coordination meetings held each year to harmonise action plans at the level of the ministry of public health.
Before the close of the annual general meeting, a financial report was presented and members invited to up date their contributions to assist the general secretariat function properly. Four new associations, notably AFFE of Mbalmayo, Maleo Santé + of Douala, Musan Bonassama, and Optimeo of Douala were co-opted into the federation. It was agreed that the next general meeting of FECABPA scheduled in June 2009 will be hosted by NOLFOWP Yaoundé. As the FECABPA annual general meeting ended, a sweet mother rushed into the maternity ward next door COGESID Health Centre in Ngwele-Bonaberi to deliver a baby girl. Mother and baby are reported doing well. Breastfeeding promotion activists are invited to open the FECABPA information blog site regularly for up dates the development of activities at the national and international levels. For information on the World Breastfeeding Week, click on the following link, http://www.worldbreastfeedingweek.net/wbw2008/cameroon.htm
For more on Cameroon Link, click on the following link at http://cameroonlink.blogspot.com and check on all profiles.