HIV/Aids and Children’s Rights in Law and Policy in Africa: Confronting Hydra Head On

The scourge of HIV/Aids which is ravaging Africa, and most particularly subSaharan Africa, has especially dire effects for children and the fulfilment of their rights. Despite a slow start, policy makers and legal systems are beginning to respond to provide a more protective and enabling framework in the context of the rapidly changing demographics of our societies being brought about by the disease. Indeed, the rise of HIV/Aids and its impact on children has spawned an entirely new children’s rights ‘language’: the ‘orphan generation’, OVCs (orphaned and vulnerable children), MTCT (mother-to-child-transmission) and child-headed households have long since entered the everyday lexicon in policy and programming on the continent.