Blame and Punishment: The underground HIV epidemic affecting children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

The report, “Blame and Banishment: The underground HIV epidemic affecting children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” highlights the issues faced by children living with HIV, adolescents engaged in risky behaviors, pregnant women using drugs, and the more than one million children and young people who live or work on the streets of the region. A recent six-country UNDP study conducted in the region showed that many adults living with HIV fear the social stigma attached to seeking treatment more than they fear the disease, thus driving the epidemic further underground. The stigma associated with HIV is not restricted to adults and adolescents. Young children living with HIV are routinely denied access to school and kindergartens, and when their status is known, they face rejection and abuse. This report is a call to protect the rights and dignity of all people living with or at risk of exposure to HIV, but especially vulnerable children and young people