Orphans

Abstract

In regions disproportionately affected by HIV in Africa, Asia, and South America, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) defined “orphans” as children who have lost one or both parents to HIV. Given the discrediting nature of the term “AIDS orphan,” and the inaccurate labeling of orphans as necessarily HIV-positive, the description is referenced less in scholarship. In the context of the epidemic, orphans are also referred to as children made vulnerable by AIDS. Although the definition of orphan carries significant programmatic and policy implications, few studies clearly define the term in the context of their work. Moreover, medical and social science research have not reached a consensus on the sociodemographic characteristics that define children orphaned by AIDS. Lack of clarity and consensus on the definition have rendered accurate and detailed epidemiological surveillance and the development of evidenced-based psychosocial interventions challenging at best. Specifically, there is considerable variability in published studies on the age (under 19 or 15 years) and serostatus of a child orphaned by AIDS, definition of caregiver who died (e.g., single or both parents; maternal or paternal), and the child’s relationship to the caregiver who died (e.g., biological parents or kinship guardians).