CIDA Photo: Bruce Paton

-- Mary Phiri, editor of Trendsetters, an HIV/Aids news monthly produced by teenagers in Zambia

Over the past five years, HIV/AIDS has changed the impact of war more than any other single factor. The chaos and brutality of war intensifies all the factors that fuel the HIV/AIDS crisis. And in many cases, children are the most affected.

War breaks up families and communities. This creates millions of refugees and places women and children at great risk of sexual attack, which spreads HIV/AIDS. When parents with AIDS die, they leave their children to be raised by grandparents or to fend for themselves in child-headed households. These children are vulnerable to hunger, disease and violence, and at increased risk of HIV infection.

Armed conflicts also destroy health care and education services, like hospitals, clinics and schools, that could help prevent or treat HIV/AIDS. Without access to AIDS medicine and education, one in three pregnant women infected with HIV will pass on her infection to her children during pregnancy, at birth or through breastfeeding.

Teenagers have the highest rates of HIV, but they are also very important actors when it comes to rebuilding communities. They are resilient and have a great capacity for learning. This makes them excellent leaders, communicators and counsellors for other war-affected youth and the wider community.

Finally, it is important to understand that HIV/AIDS and war reinforce one another. As parents, teachers, health workers and public servants die of AIDS, communities are weakened, and this creates a climate for more war.

• Worldwide, HIV/AIDS has killed 3.8 million children and orphaned 13 million more.
• In many parts of Africa, HIV/AIDS is now the main threat to human survival 18.8 million people have already died of AIDS.
• In the countries worst affected by AIDS, up to half of all 15-year-olds living today will die from the disease.
• At least 50% of all new HIV/AIDS infections occur in people in the 10-24 age group. About 7,000 new infections occur every day.

1. Making sure that all people affected by HIV/AIDS have access to health care and services, in peacetime and during war.
2. UNICEF and other United Nations organizations should discuss HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care for children. More research should be done to understand the links between AIDS, conflict and children.
3. Schools and educational systems should teach HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and emergency care. They should also teach life skills to help child-headed households.
4. All soldiers and peacekeepers should take HIV/AIDS prevention training. Testing, counselling and treatment should also be made available. If soldiers commit acts of sexual violence, they should be severely punished.

Refugees = a person who is forced to flee to another country
Child-headed household = a household in which a child takes on the role of parent and provider for younger children, when parents die or are separated from the children.
AIDS = AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is a disease that destroys the human bodys immune system. This means that people with the disease lose the ability to fight off other diseases and infections, and can die as a result of common illnesses. AIDS is most commonly spread through unprotected sex, by sharing needles for drugs or from mother to child.
HIV = HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV is the virus that scientists and doctors believe causes AIDS.