Brazil: street children in the risk zone for HIV and AIDS
Ommundsen, C.
Vardfacket 17(13): 24-25
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0347-0911 PMID: 8197822 Document Number: 333915
In the fall of 1992 the Foundation ARCA (Association for Prevention and Assistance of Street Children with AIDS) was established in Sao Paulo. Eventually cooperation developed between Sao Paulo state officials, Noah's Ark, the Swedish Red Cross, and ARCA with a view to establishing a home for street children with AIDS. The lifestyle of these children exposes them to a high risk of infection with AIDS because of narcotic use, sex behavior, and prostitution. Unofficial data from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil suggest that 2-10% of street children may be infected with HIV. In February 1989 there 145 million children in the world who worked in the streets, 24 million of them in Brazil (7 million lived permanently in the streets). The state of Sao Paulo had 64% of the 22,545 AIDS cases reported up to March 1993. Approximately 100,000 HIV-positive people are treated at other health facilities in other states of Brazil. The shelter for AIDS-afflicted street children intends to treat the infections or give the children the opportunity to die with dignity. These children are 8-17 years old. The initial 15 beds are envisioned to increase to 60 beds. Preventive promotional campaigns are also planned to reduce the spread of HIV among street kids. In the summer of 1992 the mass media in Sao Paulo and ARCA hosted a cultural fundraiser to which influential persons were invited, and the profits were donated to ARCA. An abandoned motel has also ben donated to ARCA for carrying out the desired activities.