Support and Care for People with HIV and AIDS

The cause:

HIV/AIDS and Poverty

The facts:

• Girls ages 15 to 24 are more than twice as likely as boys in the same age group to become infected by HIV in Liberia.
• There are an estimated 52,000 children orphaned by AIDS in Liberia.
• 84% of people in Liberia live below the international poverty line, surviving on less than US$1.25 per day.
• Families affected by HIV/AIDS often have to pull their children out of school to take on responsibilities at home, such as caring for sick family members or earning money, leaving them without skills necessary for their future.

The project:

Though HIV is no longer an immediate death sentence, living with HIV is still a big challenge, especially for people living in poverty. Remaining healthy requires access to medicine and healthy nutrition, which can be expensive. This project helps people living with HIV and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS to earn incomes and make ends meet through microcredit.

The details:

Living with HIV is tough to do on your own. Plan helped 200 people living with HIV get involved with local community support organizations. From there, Plan provided training for group members to gain job skills and start small businesses. Market research showed what kind of products and services were in demand in participants' communities. Once the skills training was finished, Plan provided support for people to start their own businesses. Many participants also became involved in raising awareness about HIV/AIDS in their own communities.

Many of the people involved in the project are responsible for caring for children whose parents have died of AIDS. Plan provided training and support for 1,750 caregivers to be better able to take care of these orphans, many who are HIV positive themselves.

To make sure that the impact of the project continues, Plan trained 100 members of different community organizations in how to organize a savings and loans group. They also learned leadership and project management skills. Now, they can use their knowledge to support more people living with HIV to become more financially secure and independent.

The big picture:

This project supports children's rights laid out in The Convention on the Rights of the Child:

• Article 24: All children have the right to