Foundation for the Future: Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Children Living With HIV in South Africa and Uganda

Abstract

Successes in diagnosing and treating pediatric HIV have necessitated care that extends beyond basic medical needs. However, capacity for providing childhood psychosocial support (PSS) remains limited. Programmatic research with young PLHIV, care providers and parents in Uganda and South Africa explored challenges in meeting the psychosocial needs of HIV-positive children. Three areas for childhood PSS were examined: disclosure, stigma, and grief/bereavement. This research identified programming gaps, strategies and good practices in five focal areas: providing immediate postdiagnosis support, stigma reduction, capacity building, addressing grief, and promoting peer support. Recommendations are presented for enhancing PSS for HIV-positive children in resource-limited settings.

KEYWORDS:

• adolescents
• AIDS
• care
• children
• counseling
• HIV
• psychosocial
• testing

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

USAID Colleagues: Seyoum Dejene, Julius Kalamya, USAID, Uganda; Dr. Ryan Phelps, Alison Cheng, Dr. Linda Sussman, USAID, Washington; and Anita Sampson, USAID, South Africa.

Technical Advisory Group: Amelia Jones, Community Chest, South Africa; Dr. Janet Kayita, UNICEF, Nigeria; F. Amolo Okero, World Health Organization, Switzerland; Marie Parks, University of Maryland Department of Pediatric Immunology, USA; Dr. Lineo Thahane, Baylor College of Medicine Children's Foundation, Lesotho.

Programs Participating in Technical Reviews

South Africa

	St. Nicholas Bana Pele Network, Free State
	Butterfly House, Drakenstein Palliative Hospice, Western Cape
	Cotlands, Western Cape
	National Association of Child Care Workers, Eastern Cape

Uganda

	Baylor Uganda, Kampala
	Joint Clinical Research Center (JCRC), Mbarara
	Mildmay Uganda supported-site, Naggalama Hospital, Mukono
	The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), Masaka

The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.