Brazil: The FXB House for children with HIV/AIDS
Context
In 2007, it was estimated that almost 600,000 people were living with HIV in Brazil, without knowing their status.
The state of São Paulo alone accounts for over 42% of AIDS cases in Brazil. The city of São Paulo concentrates the largest number of cases.
Our action in Brazil
1. FXB Homes
Opened in 1989, the FXB Homes are based on the concept of Tender Loving Care: the conviction that children who are orphaned, HIV-positive or suffering from AIDS, will have a better and longer life if they are welcomed into a family environment, surrounded by tenderness and benefiting from appropriate care.
The FXB Homes offered much more than medical care. From the babies to the teenagers who lived there, most were orphans or abandoned and could not count on the support and love of their parents. The team surrounding them had all the medical and human skills necessary for their well-being. The FXB House was their family, the setting for their childhood.
FXB has implemented the Tender Loving Care concept in Colombia, Brazil, Thailand and the United States.
In 1994, the year FXB opened the Maison FXB in Campo Limpo, Brazil was the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South America, with the city of São Paulo concentrating the largest number of cases. FXB was one of the few NGOs operating in this sector.
At the time, the FXB House in Campo Limpo represented a significant step forward in the fight against stigmatization and discrimination against HIV-infected people. It also represented an alternative for access to palliative care for young patients. In addition, many children from the surrounding community came here for informal education.
Our impact in Brazil
Following joint action by FXB and several Brazilian NGOs, the Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved the modification of article 18 of the Patent Law (9.279/96), enabling Brazilian pharmaceutical companies to produce generic antiretrovirals, considerably reducing the price of triple therapy and making it more widely available.
With the arrival of antiretrovirals on the market and, consequently, the possibility of prolonging parents' lives, all children residing at the FXB House have been reintegrated into their biological families or foster families.
From 2005 to 2009, FXB Brazil's programs supported these families, helping them to develop income-generating activities - notably using recycled materials - to achieve economic self-sufficiency. The aim was also to strengthen the families' overall capacity to rebuild the children's social fabric, thereby guaranteeing their well-being and their social, cognitive and emotional development.
During the 15 years FXB has been present in Brazil, numerous prevention and information activities have also been undertaken to strengthen the capacity for mobilization and social participation of marginalized communities particularly affected by HIV/AIDS.
The project is now run independently by the local organization Espaço de Prevenção e Assistência Humanizada.