African grandmothers hold summit to discuss Aids
May 4th, 2010 by admin
Africa’s first conference to discuss the specific impact of HIV and AIDS on grandmothers will begin in Swaziland on Thursday. The African Grandmothers’ Gathering aims to shed light on the plight of one of the forgotten special interest groups affected by the disease. Some of the issues to be discussed include the impact of losing adult children to AIDS and becoming the head of a household and raising grief-stricken grandchildren as their own. More than 450 grandmothers from 12 African countries are expected to attend the meeting. Philile Mlotshwa of Swapol – Swaziland Positive Living, one of the groups organising the event – said that grandmothers are at the frontline of the HIV and AIDS impact as a younger generation of adults is dying from the disease, leaving behind orphaned children.