9.2. HIV and AIDS have a big impact on communities

* Many families become primary caretakers of people with HIV and AIDS. Their medical expenses increase and their income often decreases because the sick person has stopped working. Some families even have to sell their possessions for extra income.
* These families become more dependent on their communities especially when the person living with HIV is a breadwinner.
* Children drop out of school to take care of sick or dying parents.
* More children are orphaned as parents die of AIDS.
* Children may become sick and die themselves if they are infected and do not get proper treatment.
* Many households are headed by children because there is no healthy adult.
* Local health and social services as well as schools are under pressure. In some cases healthcare clinics cannot cope with all the sick people and social welfare cannot cope with all the orphans and family problems as a result of HIV and AIDS.
The impact of HIV and AIDS on the community affects everybody in the end - the sick and healthy - the HIV positive and the negative people. We all need to work together to protect our communities against the impact of HIV and AIDS.


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