Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) warn that senior citizens are gradually left out from various HIV/AIDS programmes due to neglect, but a few schemes targeted at this group, including women, are beginning to take shape in Thailand and Indonesia, according to non-government groups attending to the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.
Quyen Ngoc Tran from HelpAge International is enlarging his project -- from Northern Thailand to Vietnam -- to include offering microcredit loans to senior citizens to aid entrepreneurship that, hopefully, will lead to a sustainable livelihood.
He said senior citizens who are HIV-positive face big problems, ranging from financial woes related to health care, physical exhaustion, emotional fatigue through long-term care, grief, loss of earning capacity, and stigma and discrimination.
"Because they are excluded from training, it’s rare for them to obtain employment opportunities. All training opportunities are given to young people only," Ngoc Tran added. He said this makes matters worse, especially given the expanded family and financial responsibility for those living with HIV and AIDS.
Other means of economic empowerment included loans to low-income, HIV-positive women in places like India. Other innovative products include health insurance for these women and microfinance programmes for small entrepreneurs.
In Indonesia, Weinda Umiati, representing an organisation that works for HIV-positive women, said it is offering loans to women living with HIV/AIDS. However, due to limited funds, her work has so far reached only 10 women in Jakarta. Sam Rith
(END/IPSAP/TerraViva/SR/KY/JS/07)