Latest UNAIDS figures estimate that the number of people over 50 who are living with HIV is 2.8 million, which is 7 per cent of all those living with the disease. However, data on infection rates is only collected for country comparisons on women and men aged 15-49, so the spread of HIV among older age groups continues to go undetected and unreported. HelpAge International believes that this approach continues to convey an ambiguous and discriminatory message to programme implementers and policy makers.

Sixty-two year old, Dorothy Mdlela lives in Durban, South Africa. For the last year she has been HIV positive and cared for at home by her daughter and granddaughter.

Two of her children passed away from AIDS related illnesses two years ago. Dorothy was their full-time carer and believes the virus may have been transmitted while caring for them because she did not understand enough about HIV and how to protect herself from infection.

“Not long after my daughters died I started to feel ill, “explains Dorothy. “A local non-government organisation, the Muthande Society for the Aged, that works with older people suggested I go for a test.

“Clinic staff were reluctant to test me because they didn’t think older people like myself were at risk, but the results came back positive. I have accepted the disease as it is there and I can’t do anything about it.”

Thembekile Hlubi, Head of MUSA says: “It’s unbelievable that age discrimination is so widespread and institutionalised. Excluding older men and women like Dorothy from HIV and AIDS programmes has led many older people to believe that there is no treatment or support for them. It’s not too late for Dorothy to access ARVs but how many men and women over 50 have given up hope because service providers and policy makers are ignoring their rights?”

MUSA works with older people in seven townships in Durban as part of it’s HIV and AIDS programme in order to combat age-discrimination. In the last year MUSA has targeted information and training on HIV transmission and access to services to 3,000 older people who are both infected with HIV, and affected by the pandemic as carers of people living with HIV and AIDS, and of orphans.

MUSA also recognises the universal cultural taboo of older women and men receiving sexual related information from younger people. The organisation has trained 250 older peer educators and counsellors to raise awareness about HIV amongst older people and their families.

On World AIDS day, HelpAge International is calling on international governments and organisations to recognise and include older people in HIV and AIDS strategies and programmes, otherwise it warns the number of older people living with HIV will increase.

HelpAge International is a global network of not-for-profit organisations with a mission to work with and for disadvantaged older people worldwide to achieve a lasting improvement in the quality of their lives. Help the Aged provides funding to HelpAge International, and is a leading partner in this network. For more information log onto www.helpage.org