13th National STI*HIV*AIDS Conference December 1st 2009 at the Amsterdam RAI conference centre: Children Affected by AIDS Working Group workshop Stop Madonna! Help families with children affected by AIDS Findings of the international research of the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (JLICA) show that large scale AIDS programs in severely affected countries fall short of what is needed for millions of children. Much more could be achieved if governments and societies were ready to address underlying issues of family poverty, gender inequality and stigma. Putting children in orphanages or adopting them to rich countries, is NOT a solution.

A serious mistake of the past has been to talk about ‘millions of AIDS orphans’, creating the erroneous image of children ‘with nobody to care of them’. In that image, the crucial role of (extended) families, whom support the majority of ‘orphans’, was overlooked.   The workshop will portray in what way and to what extent meaningful support can bring reinforcement to families affected by HIV & AIDS caring for children. The strategic lines suggested in the JLICA report ‘Home Truths’ will be illustrated in an interactive way.