Southern Africa: AIDS-affected children face systemic discrimination in accessing education.

In June 2005, Human Rights Watch (HRW) conducted an investigation in Kenya, South Africa and Uganda to document AIDS-affected children's experiences of inequality and neglect in the school system. HRW found, consistent with previous research, that the sickness of one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS led many children withdraw from school to perform household labour or offset lost family income. Parental death often led to abandonment, discrimination within extended and foster families, and emotional trauma that interfered with school performance.