Putting a face on those children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in urban cities

Among and within families affected by the HIV epidemic, there will be some children, or families of children, at particular risk of destitution and of HIV infection. The basic needs (housing, food, clothes, bedding, daily activities, health, education and childcare) of young children and their families in communities heavily affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic can and often do go unmet. It is urgent to design service programs targeted to the needs of these young children and their families. The charge then is to create environments that are more acceptable to HIV sero-positive women to receive needed services for their HIV- affected children's growth and development. Families and communities will play critical ongoing roles in meeting the needs of these HIV- affected children. Children affected by family HIV-related conditions sometimes live with aging grandparents who have their own chronic health problems. Housing and neighborhood can be designed to strengthen the supporting and caring functions of families and friends for HIV affected children. In this presentation, strategies are proposed for meeting child development goals. The extended utility of existing methods and resources addressing developmental screening, ongoing assessment, and child development intervention planning for HIV-affected children in urban settings are methods/strategies worth working towards to advance early child development