September 30, 2008

More Grandparents Care for AIDS Orphans Than Ever

The number of AIDS orphans left in the custody of their grandparents has doubled worldwide, reports The Press and Journal. Half of the world’s 15 million AIDS orphans are being cared for by a grandparent, according to Help the Aged, a United Kingdom-based international charity that advocates for disenfranchised elderly people.

If the trend continues, the number of grandparents caring for an AIDS child will double by 2015, according to Help the Aged. The group is primarily concerned about poverty-stricken grandparents. They lack food, sleep and medicine for themselves, the group said, yet their biggest fear is who will look after their grandkids once they’re gone.    

“Unrecorded, unrecognized and unsupported, these older people, many in their 80s and 90s, will struggle on less than a dollar a day to feed newborns, nurse sick toddlers and put children through school,” said David Clarke, the charity’s international manager.

To ensure that these elderly caregivers aren’t overlooked, Help the Aged will present a signed petition to the United Kingdom’s International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, and ask the U.K. government to press the United Nations to act.

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