Spotlight on HIV/AIDS

With the spotlight on HIV/AIDS this week at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna (8th – 23rd July), it’s time to remember those people across the globe who face this terrible disease. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are 22.4 million people who suffer from HIV/AIDS, about two-thirds of the global total, and without action this figure is continuing to rise.

Send a Cow works with many families affected by HIV/AIDS, whether it is working directly with those infected, or with one of the 14 million children who have lost one or both parents to the disease.

Send a Cow not only gives families the tools and skills to work their way out of poverty, but our training educates families about the risks of HIV/AIDS and helps to overcome the sigma which is often linked to the disease. As well as this, the extra income that families receive through selling milk and crops enables them to afford transport to local clinics and to access the essential antiretroviral treatments.

For people who are too weak to manage large livestock, we often give that family, dairy goats. As well as their more manageable size, the goat’s milk can vastly improve people’s nutritional intake and therefore make the drugs more effective.

We hope the conference goes well and that more awareness is raised for all HIV/AIDS sufferers.