Supporting young carers in families affected by HIV

This toolkit has been funded by the Elton John Aids Foundation and provides information, resources and good practice guidance about supporting young carers affected by HIV.

What do young carers affected by HIV want?

Young carers affected by HIV are calling for:

• Specialist HIV and young carers training sessions for all teachers, education professionals, social care and health professionals
• Have lessons about HIV and the impact on family members and young carers in schools 
• Raise awareness of young carers affected by HIV all the time not just on World Aids day 

 Statistics

• The 2001 Census found that 175,000 young carers in the UK of which 50,000 were aged between five and seven years old

• The number of HIV affected children (those living in families where one or more members is infected by HIV) in the UK is unknown but has been estimated as between 15,000 to 20,000 (Conway 2006)

• In 2010, an estimated 91,500 people were living with HIV in the UK. (http://www.nat.org.uk/HIV-Facts/Statistics/Latest-UK-Statistics.aspx)

• In 2011, there were 5,594 new diagnoses of HIV, contributing to a cumulative total of 120,756 cases reported by the end of 2011 (http://www.avert.org/uk-statistics.htm)

 Supporting young carers in families with HIV - Information for HIV professionals