| Soweto, 1976 - Thousands of black school children take to the streets in a protest march against their inferior education systems under the then apartheid system, demanding the right to be taught in their own languages. More than a hundred people are killed in the marches and over a thousand injured.
To honour the courage of the participants, the Day of the African Child is celebrated on 16 June every year. This year marks the 16th anniversary of the commemorations, initiated in 1991 by the Organization of African Unity (OAU).
- The Day also draws attention to the lives of African children today. Current statistics show that globally, over 2 million children (those under 15 years of age) are living with HIV and AIDS. And equally important is the fact that many children are either caring for their HIV-positive parents, or being orphaned by HIV.
- How can this day be commemorated to celebrate the endurance of Africa’s young people, placing a special emphasis on the lives of the many children orphaned and made vulnerable by the HIV and AIDS epidemic?
- Recently, news broke that the Bill Gates Foundation had offered a US$10 million grant for the development and testing of a candidate vaccine against HIV infection in children. In a statement, the President of the Elizabeth Glazer Foundation, Pamela Barnes, noted, "Vaccinating children has been the key to tackling the world's deadliest epidemics ... but children have been virtually absent from HIV vaccine research, despite having the most to gain from such a discovery." An estimated 14 percent of all new infections worldwide occur in babies who acquired the HI virus from their mothers. Only two known trials aimed at blocking transmission of the virus from mother to child during childbirth or breastfeeding have been conducted.
- Paediatric formulations of ARVs are still not readily available in Africa, despite the large numbers of children living with the virus. How can journalists become involved in advocating for more child-centred HIV and AIDS interventions?
- The girl child still bears the burden of the HIV pandemic. Because she faces cultural, social and economic setbacks, she is often not afforded the same status as her male counterparts. And because she is exposed to activities that heighten her vulnerability to HIV infection, such as sex work, transactional sex and cultural practices such as child pledging for appeasement of ancestors, she is at risk of contracting HIV and sexually transmitted infections. How can journalists highlight this important slant in their writing and reporting on the subject of children this Day of the African Child?
http://www.hrea.org/feature-events/african-child-day-03.html
http://www.planusa.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/178677
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=26251
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