Blame & Banishment - MÃ©decins du Monde

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A six-year-old girl embraces a social worker on the playground at the City Centre of Social Services for Youth in Kyiv, Ukraine. The girl is HIV-positive and lost her parents to AIDS. © UNICEF/NYHQ2005-1816/G. Pirozzi. Ukraine, 2005
Blame and Banishment: The underground HIV epidemic affecting children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia SECTION V Forces for change “I really did not believe that I would reach this age and this state of well-being: I go to the gym, I feel okay, and no one can tell that I am affected by something such as HIV. I work, I go to school, I learn, I do the most ‘normal’ things possible. I wish to have a family and to remain ” as I am now – with enthusiasm. Marius, 23, infected with HIV as a two-year-old boy, Romania. After meeting with people like Marius in Romania, Kanat, the father of a two-year-old HIV-positive child in Kazakhstan, was inspired and found hope for his son... Challenging the blaming, the fears and anxieties that are at the basis of negative social attitudes to those affected by HIV is critical if countries in the region are going to continue to make progress in controlling the epidemic. Bringing about change will also require both policy and legal reforms. However, these will have little impact unless they are broadly rooted in social values and system changes. Education and public information campaigns as well as the creation of an open dialogue among all stakeholders can play an important role in transforming individuals’ and societal attitudes in order to understand and redress the injustice of stigma and exclusion. The activism and advocacy of people living with HIV in many countries of the region has been an excellent example of mobilization by those affected and has resulted in better access to treatment and support for people living with and affected by HIV. Beyond that, encouraging positive action and involvement also requires the mobilization of many different stakeholders, including health and social workers, community leaders and youth organizations. As the example below shows, parents can also become an inspired force for change. One promising example in the region is the Parent to Parent Network (P2P), established by UNICEF and the East Europe & Central Asia Union of Organizations of People Living with HIV/AIDS (ECUO). 49
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Blame & Banishment - MÃ©decins du Monde

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