Effects of Hiv/aids on Children in Swaziland: Is the Extended Family Coping?

In 2004, Swaziland recorded the highest prevalence of HIV among pregnant women in the world ever at 43%. Around 63,000 children were estimated to have lost at least a parent to AIDS by 2006 and this figure is projected to increase in future to over 80,000 by 2010. About a third of these orphans are double orphans who have lost both parents and are most cared for by grand parents who are too old, weak and poor to provide for them adequately. Most of the orphans who lost one parent lost their fathers and are staying with their mothers, many of whom are sickly and have limited resources to fend for the family. Many of the orphans are sickly, poor, hungry and have limited access to health and education. The traditional safety net for these children is the extended family whose many members are sick, weak and poor and overwhelmed by the orphan crisis. Alternative structures in form of neighbourhood care points, community social centres and chieftainships have been set up to manage the crisis. Does this mean the extended family system has failed to cope?