Frequently Asked Questions
about
Health Aid UK and Health Aid Romania


Questions...




60% of European children with HIV are Romanian… why?

What is the difference between Health Aid UK and Health Aid Romania?


Answers...


60% of European children with HIV are Romanian… why?


Statistics


Here are the facts:

The children were not infected through their parents!


Less than 5 per cent of the children were born to HIV+ parents. The other 95% became HIV positive as babies, typically sometime between 1987 and 1991, through either: This seems high, but it must be understood that Romanian babies were given a lot of injections - medicines which could be administered orally were given by injection.

This unique and tragic situation still leaves question marks as to how, across the country, both in care and in families, so many children became HIV positive. Ten years later, we still don’t really know how so many children were infected. While many came from the institutions (children’s homes), there are children emerging today from ordinary families who are being found to be HIV+. These children are also around 9-13 years old - and it is clear that they too became infected between 1987 and 1991.

At another level, the cause is academic... the fact is that these children need help NOW... and will continue to need help in the future.





What is the difference between Health Aid UK and Health Aid Romania?

Health Aid UK and Health Aid Romania are sister organisations. The Head of the Romanian Project for Health Aid UK, Anne McNicholas, is also President of Health Aid Romania.

In the early days, Health Aid UK did everything, providing funding, know-how, administration and day-to-day loving care using international staff.

This was a short-term solution, which was absolutely necessary in the period just after the fall of communism. At the time, Romania had very little money, little know-how about HIV, no experience of running NGOs and the hospitals lacked resources.

The medium term solution was to establish a Romanian branch of Health Aid UK, with the longer term objective of establishing a Romanian charity - Health Aid Romania - which we achieved together in 1996.

The two charities continue to work together extremely closely.

Health Aid Romania is becoming increasingly active in raising funds locally, and is striving to help foster a "giving culture" in Romania through the smile campaign and other intitiatives. However, as Romania is an extremely poor country - a typical weekly wage is around 10 pounds (15 US dollars) - it will take many years to develop the "giving culture" which already exists in the United States, Europe, Japan etc. In view of this, most of the money for the projects in Romania continues to be met through Health Aid UK's international fundraising activites.

As for the administration and care, ten years of transfer of know-how have paid off. The day-to-day work of Health Aid Romania is now run primarily by Romanians, using the principles of international best practice. Indeed, the operation of the innovative Family Group Homes can be said to be at the leading edge of international best practice in the treatment of HIV+ children.

For additional information on the difference between Health Aid UK and Health Aid Romania, please see our mission statements.