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When parents become ill or die from HIV/AIDS, the legal impact can be severe for children. The largest issues are often caused by the death of a father, as the mother and children may lose their home and all their savings since property rights often pass to the next male in the father's family. In addition, many children in developing countries do not have birth certificates or other legal documentation, which means many orphaned children have difficulty accessing education, health care or even shelter. For example, in order to obtain food rations cards in India, children need to provide legal documentation. If a family and family home are gone, legal paperwork can mean the difference between eating or going hungry.
To help address this growing problem, the Abbott Fund and its local partners in Burkina Faso, India and Tanzania are working with trained local paralegals to resolve issues related to legal documentation, land rights, husband neglect and domestic violence for orphans and widows affected by HIV. These paralegals are helping to provide a voice for these vulnerable individuals who often have nowhere else to turn.
Abbott Fund is providing a grant to Faraja to increase access to legal and human rights information, education and support among the population infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Morogoro.
In Burkina Faso, Abbott Fund works with Initiative Privée Et Communautaire De Lutte Contre Le VIH/SIDA Au Burkina Fason (IPC) to support people living with HIV and AIDS, as well as women’s groups, with income-generation programs and legal support for orphans and vulnerable children.
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