Consequences of stress on children’s development. Children and diseases.
This is quite an experience for a boy called Fidelis and the possibility is that it is and has been an experience for a lot of children in Kenya and around the world. It is a story about a four year old child who lost his father to HIV/AIDS last year and even before that, his mother left to marry someone else after she disagreed by her husband. This child is born in a low socio-economic status family, most of his relatives have been wiped away by the HIV/AIDS disease, the few who are left do not care much about his except for his great grandmother who is still alive but unfortunately very old and she cannot provide for their needs. She has moved from one relative to another seeking help and provision for herself and the great grandson but did not get any. They stayed hungry for a whole week without food and water. When things got too hard for them they came to my mother for help, which she graciously did and she still provides for the two of them until they get a permanent solution which is highly unlikely.
This child has been highly affected in the domains of economic and food security, psychosocial care, education, health, family composition and stability of care. Staying with the great grandmother who can hardly walk, he is required to do a lot of things for himself, sometimes he goes for days without a shower if my mum is not available to do it and hardly changes his clothes because he has only four pairs bought by my mum. In Kenya there is no compensation unless if the person who passed away was a civil servant, our adoption systems cannot accept him because he has surviving relatives who do not want an extra mouth, and it is now upon us to find a solution for little Fidelis to be able to have a bright future. A research done by Linda Richter on the impact of HIV/AIDS on the development of children states that “there is no doubt that the HIV/AIDS epidemic has, and will, precipitate enormous suffering for countless children, families and communities. Unknown numbers of children will go hungry, starve and suffer stunted physical and mental growth. Similarly, many children will endure enormous anguish as they potentially find themselves alone and unsupported, the butt of cruel commentary and behaviour, excluded, exploited, beaten, raped and forced into labour. Many children will have to make their own way in the world, sleeping rough, doing opportunistic work, begging and soliciting patronage and protection from street groups.”
A country that I have researched on is Nigeria, which is found in the west part of Africa, and rich in oil. From research done this year, an estimated 300,000 children die in Nigeria from malaria. Malaria is a parasitic and life threatening disease transmitted by the bite of the female anopheles mosquito. The symptoms of malaria are fever, nausea, vomiting, weakness of the body and headaches, constant sweats, dry cough, chills and it usually takes about 2-3 weeks for the symptoms to manifest. According to an article by UNICEF “Sleeping under insecticide treated nets (ITNs) can reduce overall child mortality by 20 per cent. There is evidence that ITNs, when consistently and correctly used, can save approximately six child lives per year for every one thousand children sleeping under them. Prompt access to effective treatment can further reduce deaths. Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy can significantly reduce the proportion of low birth weight infants and maternal anaemia.” Even with the recommendations to use insecticide treated nets a lot of people do not put their children under treated mosquito nets leading to deaths of children and even adults. Eradication of malaria is a program or a project that has been adopted by most governments in African countries which is helping eradicate the disease to save both mother and child during pregnancy and even after birth. But in the article by Ogechukwu Agwu, the Sun states that “however, Prof Gamaniel Karniyus, the Director-General, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) attributed the prevalence of the disease in the country to lack of research. Speaking on the occasion of World Malaria Day 2015; he said the Federal Government is not serious about research which is unfortunate. In a wake-up call, he disclosed that the centre would be signing an agreement with a pharmaceutical company for the development of a drug from a local medicinal plant for the treatment of malaria.” For malaria to be completely eradicated, the government of Nigeria will have to invest in treated mosquito nets and distribute to every expectant mother and advice the mothers to use them just like the Kenyan government has been and is doing. Every mother is advised or requested to register the number of children in her family then she is given an equal number of treated mosquito nets plus her and the husband and this has helped reduce cases of malaria.
References.
Richter, L. The impact of HIV/AIDS on the development of children https://www.issafrica.org/uploads/109CHAP2.PDF
http://www.unicef.org/health/index_malaria.html
http://sunnewsonline.com/new/300000-children-die-of-malaria-annually-in-nigeria/
