Grim reaper claims 40,000 children a year

Over the past eight years, Moses Nyagumbo, a retired carpenter, has lost three of his children to HIV. “It breaks my heart,” he says. “I have lost two sons and one daughter and now my children have left me with another burden. That pains me a lot,” he says taking a long pull from the pipe, and puffing out the thick white “gombototo” from his nostrils.

Nyagumbo finds it hard to bring himself to terms with the fact that he could actually outlive the grandson he cares for as well. It is a heartbreaking situation but one which is not unusual. There are about 1,6 million children orphaned and vulnerable, mainly due to HIV and AIDS. Approximately 2,300 people are still dying weekly due to HIV-related illnesses, say the First Report of the Senate Thematic Committee on HIV and Aids and Access to Treatment tabled this week. The sobering report says the grim reaper is taking 40,000 children every year, due to HIV related infections.

The reports notes a steady increase in the number of Zimbabwean children becoming orphaned by the disease and says 1,5 million Zimbabweans aged between 15 and 49 are HIV-positive. The disease imposes a heavy burden on grandparents, most of them with meagre income. Nyagumbo (63) struggles for survival. He not only supports himself, and the Grade One boy he is here to pick up, he is also the sole breadwinner for six other grandchildren.

“I thought my kids would look after me when I get old” he says, and stares long and hard into space before shaking his head. Unless help is given, it is a burden that many elderly people will find too heavy to shoulder, one home caregiver said at a recent workshop. The pensioners receive the ludicrous retirement allowance of $25.

But behind this dark cloud is a silver lining. Despite the seemingly insurmountable challenge posed by the disease, the Senate has been told that the country is making steady progress in slashing the number of new infections. The general prevalence rate has been declining over the past eight years from a high of about 33 percent in 1999, 23 percent in 2001 to 13.7 percent in 2009,” the report notes. “This is attributed to high knowledge levels on HIV and AIDS issues and effective implementation of the Behaviour Change Strategy.