Living & Loving

HIV Children's Project in Thailand

What we do

The project is helping children in two centres:

• The Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre in Bangkok, home-based care (100 children),
• Khon Kaen University Hospital in the north-east of Thailand, the main referral hospital in that region with a mix of orphanage and home-based care. (300 children)

The funds provided by Living & Loving are distributed through the doctors and paediatricians in charge of the children and coordinators in the centres via annual budgets approved by the trustees. The progress of the children is being monitored on a regular basis as part of routine clinical practice.

Funds from the charity are spent on supporting the children in ways not covered by the local health and social infrastructure:

• Costs of HIV medication not covered by local health services
• Monthly allowances for the poorest families, to provide funds for food, clothing and schooling for the children under their care
• Costs of providing carers in orphanages and child support workers in the community
• Cost of emergency medical treatment for HIV-related illnesses
• Costs of providing psycho-social support (funding for special classes, educational projects and self-help group)
• Support of two outreach workers, who visit children and families either in orphanages or in families to make sure they are being appropriately supported. The outreach workers also identify new children and families with HIV/AIDS in the community who need our support.

We also consider initiatives to help promote financial independence of the family members in charge of children who are receiving support from the charity. We will therefore consider providing small lump sums to help the children's families to buy supplies or machinery to start small home-based businesses and support the coordination of these efforts. As a result it is expected that some of the children and their families may become financially independent and may not need the help of the charity in the long-term.

Background on the issues

The HIV pandemic has resulted in a large number of HIV-infected children worldwide. These children often suffer from the stigma of having the disease, may be abandoned, rejected from local communities, schools and family networks, and grows up in poverty, with few or no surviving relatives able to support them.

Progress in the treatment of HIV infection with combination antiretroviral therapy has resulted in a very significant improvement in survival among these infected children, altering their long-term prognosis in a very positive manner.

With the right medical treatment, support and care, children can be given the chance to live better, longer and happier lives, to continue their education and to remain integrated into local society.

We carefully monitor the medical progress of the children we support to ensure they get the best treatment available in Thailand.