In sub-Saharan Africa, 61% of all people living with HIV are women. Young women (15–24 years) are three to six times more likely to be infected than men in the same age group.*
Unfortunately, 800,000 Zambian children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, and others are left to care for themselves because their parents have to work in the fields.**
Severe burns happen frequently because a third of the world still uses open
fires for cooking, heating and/or lighting. Overcrowded living conditions, lack of proper safety measures, loose clothing worn by women and insufficient parental supervision of children are other factors.
Because AIDS takes the lives of so many parents, especially the women who are the main caretakers of children many more children are now suffering burns from open fires.
The story of Mateo represents the typical scenario. He fell into an open fire while under the care of his slightly older sister. Actually Mateo was one of the lucky ones, many children go untreated but he received help from Interplast partner Dr. Goran Jovic.
The Forgotten Global Health Crisis from Phil Borges on Vimeo.
I traveled with Dr. Jovic as he flew to remote villages around Zambia in his single engine plane to treat severely burned patients that would otherwise never receive treatment and remain disabled for life.
Burns comprise half of Interplast surgeries, with 80 percent of them being performed at 12 Interplast Surgical Outreach Centers in nine countries.