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Cross Cultural Programming for AIDS Orphans: What We are Learning from Other Contexts

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Abstract

The problem of AIDS orphans in Zambia has reached alarming proportions because of the extent of poverty and poor social and economic policies. Worldwide, 15 million children have been orphaned due to AIDS, with 11.6 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa alone (UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 2009: maternal and newborn health, UNICEF, New York, 2008), and 670,000 children under the age of 17 in Zambia (UNAIDS, UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic, UNAIDS, Geneva, 2010). Resulting from this situation are child headed households (CHHs) who face hunger, poor health, sanitation and water problems. Despite the challenges, there seems to be an absence of political will to support CHHs. To assess if Africans living in Richmond Virginia in the United States might offer something programmatically useful for CHHs in Zambia, important elements in the Richmond Independent Living services model were identified. Specific elements were screened using Africans as a cultural screen. Important implications for programming and practice suggest that feasibility, content and quality are key areas for appropriate CHHs programming. In this article, the terms orphans, vulnerable children, and young people are used interchangeably.

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Correspondence to Samson Chama.

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Chama, S., Mutepa, R. Cross Cultural Programming for AIDS Orphans: What We are Learning from Other Contexts. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 31, 339–353 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-014-0329-5

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