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HIV and AIDS in Romania:taking stock

Let’s Unite for Children!Welcome to this edition ofUnite for Children, UNICEFRomania’s quarterlypublication that helps keepdonors, partners and thegeneral public abreast of themajor issues faced bychildren in Romania, and whatUNICEF is doing to helpprotect and defend theirrights.

This edition’s focus is HIV andAIDS in Romania, and in thefollowing pages readers willlearn that when almost twoper cent of Romania’s institutionalised children tested positive forHIV in 1992, the country faced a potential catastrophe. The growthof a deadly virus threatened to spiral out of control, and possiblycould have, had it not been for the persistent, unrelenting hardwork of many actors at local, national and international levels.Today the danger in high-risk, vulnerable groups remains very real,but the threat of an epidemic amongst children has been averted,and Romania’s confronting the problem amongst children is amajor victory for all concerned.

Romania’s experience with HIV and AIDS is most remarkable forthe fact that many of the children who were diagnosed with HIV inthe early 1990s have survived, and are now approaching the end ofadolescence. While they do have specific issues that are notshared by their contemporaries, with the correct treatment andcounseling they are now looking ahead to a future not vastlydifferent from any ‘normal’ young man or woman. Theirexperience makes them among the best-informed activists andcounselors against AIDS, and many are willing to talk and sharetheir stories. Further, their experience – unique in Europe – isinvaluable to AIDS medical staff and researchers and has alreadybeen studied in minute detail when outbreaks have occurredamongst children in other countries in the region.

A word on fund raising, and an inspiring example of the power ofcorporate sponsorship to do good. The last quarter of 2008 sawOne Pack = One Vaccine – a long-term, multi-million dollar, multi-country programme aimed at raising sufficient funds to vaccinatemothers and babies against tetanus – expand to Romania. Procter& Gamble, the producer of Pampers diapers agreed that for eachspecially marked pack and wipe of Pampers purchased it woulddonate to UNICEF the cost of a vaccine. The fundraisingprogramme which lasts until 2011, has already raised enoughmoney for 50 million vaccines and aims to raise enough foranother 200 million vaccines – enough to eliminate tetanusentirely, thus saving the lives of potentially millions of youngwomen and children.

Edmond McLoughneyUNICEF Representative, Romania

In this issue

Introduction 2UNICEF Romania Representative EdmondMcLoughney introduces this issue of Unite forChildren, saying that its headline topic, Romania’sexperience with HIV and AIDS is one of hope foryoung people living with the virus.

Feature 3HIV and AIDS was prevalent amongst abandonedchildren living in institutions in the early 1990s, butthe willpower and strength of infected children hasturned a potentially catastrophic situation into one ofinspiration and hope.

Focus 7Iulian Petre, Executive Director of UNOPA, whosemembers are Romanian NGOs fighting for the rights ofpeople living with HIV and AIDS, says thatdiscrimination in Romania is not what it used to be.

UNICEF fundraising 10The power of corporate sponsorships is exemplifiedby UNICEF’s partnership with Pampers, whose OnePack = One Vaccine initiative is aimed at ridding theworld of tetanus.

Cover picture: UNICEF Romania/Pirozzi.UNICEF Representative, Romania

Unite for Children is published quarterly by UNICEF Romania,48A, Blvd. Primăverii, 011975 Bucharest 1 Romania.T: +40 21 201 7872; F: +40 21 317 5255;E: [email protected];www.unicef.org/romania

Despina Andrei – Private Sector Division ManagerT: +40 21 201 7858; E: [email protected]

Dr. Cristina Chiotan - HIV / AIDS ConsultantT: +40 21 201 7861; E: [email protected]

Eugen Crai – Social Policy and Advocacy SpecialistT: +40 21 201 7862; E: [email protected]

Dr. Voichița Pop – Programme Specialist for Child Protectionand Health; T: +40 21 201 7854; E: [email protected]

Codruța Hedeșiu – Communication OfficerT: +40 21 201 7864; E: [email protected]

2 UNITE FOR CHILDREN: THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF UNICEF ROMANIA - NR 3, 2009

UNITE FOR CHILDREN: THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF UNICEF ROMANIA - NR 3, 2009 3

HIV and AIDSin Romania:taking stock

From a once dire position, in less than a generation Romaniahas stared down the spectre of HIV and AIDS. A combination of

knowhow, strong collaboration between specialists,partnerships forged between NGOs and authorities, and

supportive pharmaceutical companies has ensured that peopleliving with HIV and AIDS can look to the future

with a degree of hope

Controlling the spread of AIDS requires a cohesive, unified approach from all sides. Picture: UNOPA.

THE MOMENT VALERIU D. WALKS INTOTHE ROOM,the impression given is how ordinary and everyday ishis appearance. A year or two beyond adolescence,dark-haired, tall, slim and bright-eyed, and dressedcasually in the sloppy chic mode that is de rigueur withyoung Romanians of the day, with a backpack slungover his shoulder he could be the young man behindthe counter at the government office, the waiter at therestaurant, or the shop assistant who helps you buy anew pair of shoes. He could be the next-doorneighbour. He could be any of us. Smiling, he regardsme directly; we shake hands and he takes off his coatand sits comfortably in his chair and begins to tell thestory of how he contracted human immunodeficiencyvirus, more commonly known as HIV.

COVERAGE OFTHE FALL OF ROMANIA’S COMMUNISTregime during the revolution in December 1989 may

be fading in the memory, but the photographs andfootage shot soon afterwards by the first medicalteams, diplomats and journalists who ventured into theorphanages housing Romania’s abandoned childrenremain unforgettable, indelibly stamped on thememory. Shaven-headed, semi-naked andmalnourished, the cameras showed children in theirhundreds dressed in rags trapped in barred, airlessrooms, many tied to beds or rocking back and forth outof mind-numbing boredom. Of the injusticesgenerated by the Ceauşescu regime this was to prove

the most graphic, the most shocking. Beamed intohomes across the world, the footage prompted globaloutrage, and medical provisions and aid poured into acountry that had kept its abandoned children underlock and key for decades.

Elsewhere, earlier in the 1980s the first cases of AIDSwere discovered and diagnosed. As researchers beganto understand its complexity, they found that the viruswas transferred between people by the exchange ofbodily fluids – namely, blood and semen – betweenone infected person to another, and it was thought thatpreventative steps could greatly curtail the spread ofthe disease. The early history of HIV and AIDS saw itsspread confined mainly to high-risk groups such as

men having sex with men and intravenous drug users,and campaigns designed to make these groups awareof the disease, its dangers and prevention helped in itsunderstanding amongst the public. The need forsterile, clean needles and the strict screening of bloodin hospitals was emphasised in information campaignsaround the world.

The 1980s was perhaps the most austere period inRomania’s modern history. Although the first case ofHIV and AIDS was diagnosed in 1985, the country’srulers did not consider the disease as a threat – or ifthey did, they weren’t saying so. Nor did they


UNAIDS Country Coordinator Eduard Petrescu: “To prevent a potential epidemic you have to hit hard at the first sign ofhigh-risk behaviour.” Picture: Vivid.

consider that high-risk groups existed. “This wasprobably one of the reasons they did not want to lookat the possible risks of such an epidemic in Romania.The thinking might have been, ‘As these people did notexist, we do not need to explore whether we have aproblem with HIV and AIDS,’” explains EduardPetrescu, who has been the Country Coordinator forUNAIDS since 1997. “So until the end of thecommunist regime nothing was done in Romania torestrict the spread of HIV and AIDS.”

By then it had become clear that a further group facedgrave danger – those who had been subjected totainted blood or syringes and needles that had notbeen properly sterilised after medical procedures.Institutionalised children in Romania were thereforeright in the firing line, and a combination of a healthsystem on the verge of bankruptcy, decision makersthat refused to take preventative measures, appallingliving conditions, poor nutrition and the fact thatRomanian children received five times the number ofinjections of Western European children before the ageof one – a Human Rights Watch report showed thatsome hospitals would administer up to 120 injectionsper child over a four-week period – all conspired tomake them particularly vulnerable. While senior healthworkers refused to accept that the disease could everpose a threat in Romania, it had in fact already takenroot and was beginning to spread.The system wasdesigned to cloak cases of child mortality, to divert anyquestions being asked of the health of children. At thecountry’s one facility that had the necessary equipmentto test for HIV and AIDS hundreds of cases werediagnosed, including cases of children, but these werenot reported.

The result of many years of chronic mismanagementwas that in February 1990 children were discovered tobe dying of AIDS in several hospitals throughoutRomania. This news went straight out into theinternational media, as did the footage of the sick,neglected and disabled children that so shocked theworld. One of the first humanitarian missions toRomania after the revolution, led by the World HealthOrganisation in 1990-1991, surmised that HIV infectionamongst children might have had its source in theorphanages, so it set about testing all 120,000institutionalised children. The result was that about2,000 children tested HIV-positive. The children werenot orphans – rather, they had been abandoned, mostlikely the result of unplanned pregnancies (birthcontrol was illegal during communism) or the direfinancial circumstances of their parents – so in manycases it was possible to test their parents for HIV andAIDS. Since many tested negative we can presumethat the children had been infected through taintedblood, reused needles and syringes or poorly sterilisedmedical instruments.Reaction was swift, and the WHO mission resident inRomania in 1990-91 proposed measures to stop the

spread of HIV through medical procedures; theyincluded the introduction of disposable syringes andblood testing. These measures proved to be effectivebecause, experts say, medical negligence was nolonger responsible for any Romanian children bornwith HIV after 1992. Thus, one serious source ofcontamination had been eradicated.

ASTHE WORLD GRASPEDTHE FULL EXTENT OF ROMANIA’Sinstitutionalised children, international agenciespoured into the country to try to help. At that timethere was no specialised treatment available – exceptfor associated infections that attacked the immunesystem, such as cancers and tuberculosis. UNICEFopened a country office in 1991 in Romania andprioritised HIV and AIDS programmes from the outset.Support was provided to different groups, especiallyNGOs which were providing medical and socialassistance to the children, as well as counselling andalternative services that were unavailable through thepublic health system.

“In those early days UNICEF was very effective inhelping to educate the population, in educating eventhe opinion leaders at a community level,” says EduardPetrescu. “There were cascades of medical workersentering Romania – from trainers to teachers to socialworkers to hospital nurses trying to teach people aboutHIV and AIDS, and why there should be no problem tosocially interact with a person with HIV.” Important toowas social support for families, to help them cope witha child who was HIV positive. There were programmesthat provided terminal care with some of the childrenin a more advanced stage, and UNICEF supportedmany programmes for abandoned children inConstanţa and in other parts of the country, makingsure they had access to the best medical and familycare. For abandoned children this was cruciallyimportant. UNICEF also put its support behind theNGOs that were providing nutritional programmes andadvice for young people living with HIV, as goodnutrition is one of the key elements in keeping theimmune system strong. This area became a key focus.

The programmes evolved as the situation evolved.Because of the high international, media andemotional interest, there was always a focus onRomania about these children. Representatives fromthe private sector and drug companies began comingto Romania, to see what could be done to help, and topromote their treatments. As such Romania beganadministering treatment for HIV at the same time asthe rest of Europe – probably not to the same extent,as financial resources were limited – but Romaniastarted with the first drugs in 1995.

The problem was that most of the drugs weredesigned for adults, since most of the people in theWest with the virus were adults, not children.


With half of Europe’s HIV positive children, Romaniafound itself at the forefront of research on how drugstested on adults could work with children. The focuson Romania turned out to be beneficial for both thecountry and children living with HIV, because todayRomania’s experience has proved invaluable for theearly treatment of children with HIV; this experience isalready available for other countries to learn from,especially in the Balkans and CIS countries. UNICEFhas organised study tours for professionals fromBelarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan,Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. People participating in studytours have learned about the challenges that Romanianprofessionals encountered and how their perspectivein dealing with similar situations in the 1990s haschanged.They have learned that with perseveranceand commitment there is hope, and that problems canbe overcome. Latterly, the Romanian government hasexpressed an interest in helping other countries designtheir own treatment programmes.

LIKETHOUSANDS OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES,VALERIU D.had entered Romania’s health system ofthe early 1990s for what should have been a routinecheck of a digestive complaint. Barely a year old, hismemory of the hospital is scant. Three years later, justprior to entering kindergarten, he was instructed toundergo a series of tests before being admitted, as didall children going to school at that stage. The testsshowed that Valeriu was HIV positive, although thatoutcome was kept from him until later, when Valeriuwas at school.To rule out the possibility that he hadcaught it from his mother, both his parents were testedand both were negative. That only left one possiblesource of contracting HIV: during a medicalintervention.

Valeriu’s parents did not tell him that he was HIV-positive for some years. What would be the point? He

was too young to understand, anyway. Once he hadlearnt to read and write, he found some documentsand asked his mother about them. “You have hepatitisand you need some vitamins,” he remembers hersaying. Unsatisfied, he focused on finding the realtruth. It was not difficult to make the connection withthe trips to the clinic, where ‘HIV’ was written inbrutally bold lettering wherever he looked, the bloodsamples – too numerous to count – and his falteringphysical condition. And why, he wondered, could henot go outside and play with his friends? Why did healways have to stay at home?

The first time that Valeriu knew he was different waswhen his parents told his teacher about his condition.He was at school at that stage, aged 10 and in the fifthgrade of a normal school when, concerned about hishealth, his parents visited his teachers and told them ofthe reason he would easily run out of energy andsuggested that he be excused from anything toostrenuous.The very next day the teachers held ameeting, not with the parents but all the children in theclass. As it happened, Valeriu was absent that day,probably at the hospital. When he returned to schoolthe following day, he found the whole atmosphere hadchanged, as had his schoolmates’ attitude. They weren’tbeing mean or teasing him, but they were different,more aloof now that his ‘little secret’ – his words – wasout. Until then, he had not thought of his HIV status asmuch of a problem. “When you have HIV, you learnhow to protect yourself, and others,” he says.

“BETWEEN 1997 AND 2000 MANY NEW DRUGS WEREmade avalaible and many, but not all HIV patients hadaccess to treatment,” says Eduard Petrescu. Thefinancing base of the health system was in transitionfrom a state budget to an insurance system, whichprobably could have been better managed. “The resultof all this chaos, together with some political chaos,ended in a major crisis in 2001, and a lot of childrenand adults who had started treatment had to stoptreatment, due to financial reasons,” he continued.

A key moment came when the UN intervened, afterUNICEF and UNOPA – the Union of NationalOrganisations of People Affected by HIV and AIDS –had approached the Ministry of Health to includeRomania in an already existing programme thatprovided HIV and AIDS patients from countries inAfrica, Asia and Latin America with drugs from the fivemajor pharmaceutical companies at reduced prices.Romania’s government had to commit to providedrugs to anyone who needed them, withpharmaceutical companies providing drugs either atdeeply discounted prices, or partly as donations. Theagreement, facilitated by the UN, was negotiated intwo months in 2001 and was signed during the WorldAIDS Summit in June 2001. UNICEF and UNAIDSworked with UNOPA and the government to


With the right mix of medication, Valeriu D. and thethousands of young HIV-positive people like him inRomania stand every chance of leading normal, happy,productive lives. Picture: UNICEF Romania.


Iulian Petre is the Executive Director of UNOPA, theNational Union of Organisations of People affected byHIV and AIDS.

What is UNOPA, and what does it do?Formed in 2000, UNOPA is a union representing theNGOs whose members are people living with HIV andAIDS. We formed because of the very real need towork on behalf of our members to present a unitedfront to policy makers, decision makers, employeesand indeed society as a whole. We have about 20members, and the NGOs are based all aroundRomania. UNOPA is like a watchdog, bringing to theattention of authorities all the problems that arise overdifferent situations for people with HIV and AIDS.

You have had some major achievements?In 2000 not everyone with HIV-AIDS was able to benefitfrom free treatment, and many people died. But sincethen almost everyone is receiving free treatment andsocial protection through legislation for disabledpeople, people who are members of NGOs which are inturn members of UNOPA. There is a chapter writteninto the legislation for them. However, they do not feelthat this issue is solved so completely that they cansleep peacefully. They need to remain vigilant.

What is the biggest problem facing Romania’slong-term survivors?The biggest handicap is educational. Half of thesurvivors – who are now typically aged between 19 and22 – have not graduated from high school, whichmeans that at their age they are unlikely to findunemployment. So finalising their studies is a majorissue.

How will they finalise their studies?Some have succeeded in returning to school andfinalising their studies, and some are students at themoment, in high schools and universities.There is aneducation programme run by the Ministry of Educationcalled Second Chance, dedicated to children and youngpeople who could not attend school for several years.They can go back to perhaps do two years in one. Theyare also able to apply for vocational courses fordifferent jobs and professions.

Do they come up against discrimination?The most common form is in the community. Inschools and hospitals, there is still discrimination, butnot at the level of several years ago, when they mighthave been refused medical treatment, or refused aclassroom to study. People are much better informed.At the workplace you find stigma and discriminationwhen people discover that their colleague is HIVpositive. Employers are better informed, but there arestill many cases of discrimination.

How has UNICEF helped UNOPA?When UNOPA formed in 2000, UNICEF helped in thearea of organisational issues. That was important,because it was the first time that all our members weretogether, and they needed support and advice on howto stay together. UNICEF has supported specificactivities – it has helped organize our annual meetingsand helped with fund raising for their development. Ithas helped with the monitoring of the rights of peopleliving with HIV, and has supported advocacy activities.It has introduced us to European-wide HIV and AIDSforums, and helped form the Fighters, a group ofyoung people who live with HIV and AIDS who act asactivists and counselors.

IN HIS OWNWORDS

Iulian Petre: “Throughout UNOPA’s existence we have hadstrong support from UNICEF.” Picture: UNICEF Romania.


ensure procurement, to update national guidelines,and to improve the national registry of HIV and AIDSpatients for easier monitoring. At the nextWHO/UNICEF assessment in 2003 universal access wasproven.The budget of the programme is reflected byits complexity – and, of course, by the number of itsbeneficiaries. In 2001, the budget for treatment was$1.5 million; in 2008, it was around 70 million euros.The number of patients in the programme hasincreased from 2,000 to almost 7,500. It is not only thecost of the treatment that has become more complexand more expensive. Says Eduard Petrescu, “As youprogress through a treatment, the drugs become moreand more expensive.”

While expensive, there is no doubt that the treatmentprogramme has been an unqualified success. Acombination of the programme, and the care andunderstanding that the children receive, have madethem what they are today: long-term survivors of HIV.Having contracted the disease in the late 1980s or early1990s, they are now typically young adults, who havebeen living with the virus since they were very young.They are beginning to search for the things mostyoung people seek, and jobs, relationships, and afamily feature high on the list.

At the beginning of the 1990s, few people thoughtthese children would survive. Many of them werefrequently ill, and the quality of their lives was low.Many of them were abandoned, and had eitherdropped out of school or had not even begun school inthe first place. Every indication pointed to their dyingyoung. After 1997 when treatment became morewidely available and the standard of their healthimproved, many had problems starting back at schoolor finishing school. So the rate of school graduationamongst Romania’s long-term HIV survivors is verydifferent to that of the general population. Many havecompleted only primary school; few have completedhigh school, and even fewer have been to university.Now, many are enrolled in programmes throughUNOPA and supported by UNICEF that assist themback to school, so that they may continue with theireducation. They are covered by social security, receivea small income and vocational programmes exist tohelp them promote their chances in the work force.Indeed, in 2009 UNICEF is supporting theimplementation of a project that assists young peopleliving with HIV and AIDS in social and professionalintegration, responding to needs that can involvecontinuing education, finding a work place and urgingemployers to support their professional integration.

Furthermore, they are excellent counsellors andactivists, and both UNICEF and UNAIDS have workedwith them in all their HIV and AIDS-related campaignssince 2001. Particularly active within UNOPA is “theFighters“, a group that teaches people about HIV andAIDS, how it is transmitted and how it can beprevented. But whether the campaigns are aboutprevention or raising awareness or combatingdiscrimination, people living with HIV and AIDS inRomania provide valuable input, and have launchedsome of their own campaigns through UNOPA, afterestablishing their own allies and partnerships. “Theupshot is that we have a ‘combat’ group of 7,000people with HIV and AIDS. They are young adults whowant families, who want children, they want a sex lifeand a social life. Some of them were very ill for years,and now they want to make up for all the thingsthey’ve never had in their lives,” says Eduard Petrescu.

As Romania has become a low prevalence HIV and

AT A GLANCE:UNICEF Romania’s HIVand AIDS programme

The primary focus of UNICEF Romania’s HIV/AIDSprogramme is prevention of HIV infection andcapacity strengthening in partnership with both thegovernment structure and NGOs to better respond tothe HIV epidemic.Projects developed under the HIV and AIDSprogramme have objectives that include:• working at policy level with government partners,

UNICEF is promoting the inclusion of most at riskadolescents (MARA) into the National Strategy

• baseline research study on MARA will be launchedin 2009; will contribute to HIV prevention andaccess to other medical services for most at riskadolescents

• supporting programmes and implementingactivities to facilitate access of young people livingwith HIV/AIDS to school, vocational training andjobs

• promoting Romania's achievements and models inHIV prevention and treatment, and supportingexperience sharing with other countries in the region

UNICEF Romania was active in the area of policychange and system reform. Some successes whichUNICEF has contributed to include:• establishing the National Multisectoral Committee

for HIV and AIDS• including prevention of mother to child

transmission in the National MultisectoralCommittee for HIV and AIDS services

• capacity building and assisting the development ofassociations of people living with HIV and AIDS,especially for adolescents and young people

• support for the establishment of the National AntiDrug Agency and the county centres for preventionof drug use

• support for development and implementation of“Health Education in Romanian Schools”, a nationalprogramme comprising specific information on HIVand AIDS prevention


AIDS country, UNICEF is targeting most at riskadolescents (MARA) – adolescent boys and girlsengaging in high risk behaviour. Within a multi-country programme UNICEF and its partners (theMinistry of Public Health, National Anti Drug Agencyand University of Sociology and Social Assistance) hasperformed a baseline study on their behaviour, whichis to be launched in 2009.The study will ensure theevidence and tools necessary for HIV prevention andintervention among vulnerable groups are available tothe key stakeholders, government and non-government partners. Furthermore, in partnership withUNODC, in 2009 UNICEF is working with seven NGOsaiming to build on existing services and insure MARAaccess to HIV prevention and other medical and socialservices.

Fighting HIV and AIDS in Romania has been the resultof hard work, joint efforts and strong teams formed byhealth professionals, psychologists, NGOs andgovernment partners working together; UNICEF, otherUN agencies and international organisations havesupported their engagement and commitment.There isa long list of people who have committed themselvesto the cause of the children infected with HIV and AIDS,which includes Dr. Rodica Mătuşa, Dr. Mariana

Mărdărescu, Elena Cişmaşu, Mirela Ivan, Prof. Univ. Dr.Sorin Rugină, and Prof. Univ. Dr. Adrian Streinu Cercel.Support was ensured for these children by NGOs suchas Casa Speranţa, Fundaţia Baylor Marea Neagră,Alături de Voi, Asociaţia Română Anti SIDA (ARAS),UNOPA, and Romania Angel Appeal, that worked inclose collaboration with infectious disease hospitals inConstanţa and Bucharest.The partnerships have beenbuilt on personal commitment and strongrelationships. Now they can all be proud of theirachievements.

VALERIU D’S EXPERIENCE WITHTHE DISEASE mirrorsthe changes in fortune of Romania’s HIV patients. Afterfinding that his immune system was extremely lowand that he was not responding to the prescribeddrugs, he was forced to drop out of school for twoyears. Now, however, he is receiving the rightcombination of drugs and although aged 20, with thehelp of UNICEF he is back at school and making up forlost time. Working by day on schoolwork and by nightdesigning websites, his ambition is to become a full-time website designer. He has already created severalthat are smart and technically inventive, and is workingon more. There is little that he can’t do, provided hetakes proper care of himself and continues to receivemedication, which now consists of twice-daily pills.

As well as that, Valeriu has harbored his experiencewith HIV and become part of the Fighters; hispresence, and the presence of other people living withHIV and AIDS, forms an important role of the fightagainst AIDS. When he talks to people about thedisease, he tells them that HIV and AIDS is a diseasethat can be controlled. “I don’t have any reason to beunhappy, or angry,” he says. I’m happy because I feelgreat, and that means a lot. I have the opportunity todo whatever I want to do, to make my life continuesmoothly and normally like other people.”

In the mid-1990s half of all children in Europe with HIVwere Romanian children. Picture: UNOPA.

AT A GLANCE:HIV and AIDS cases in Romania

• It is believed that between 1986 and 1991 over10,000 children were infected through medicalprocedures that included transfusion withunscreened blood, reused needles and syringes,and use of poorly sterilized medical instruments.

• A small number of cases of HIV-positive childrenwho were born after 1991 exist, and virtually nonewere born after 1994.

• Today there are almost 10,000 registered peopleliving with HIV and AIDS in Romania; of these,7,000 are adolescents and young adults, havingcontracted the disease when very young.


One Pack = OneVaccineIt is impossible to underestimate the importance of corporateinvolvement in fund raising activities, and UNICEF has partnered withcorporate sponsors in several initiatives. One of the aims of Unite forChildren is to publicise UNICEF fund raising initiatives, and one wide-ranging example is UNICEF’s involvement in One Pack = One Vaccine,a global, multi-year, multi-million dollar campaign in which UNICEF andPampers, the producer of baby care products, work together with thegoal of eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus by 2012. For everyspecially marked Pampers product sold between 1st October and 31stDecember 2008, Pampers donated the cost of a life-saving tetanusvaccine, to enable UNICEF to contribute to the vaccination of a

woman of childbearing age in countries where tetanus is prevalent.

Until 2008, One Pack = One Vaccine has already raised enough moneyto pay for almost 50 million vaccines against tetanus. It is hoped thatby the end of the campaign in 2011 enough money will have beenraised to immunise another 200 million mothers and babies, anachievement that will effectively eliminate mother and neonataltetanus.

Initially launched in the UK in 2006, One Pack = One Vaccine expandedto include other countries in Western Europe in 2007 and in 2008expanded globally. In Romania, the campaign was launched inOctober 2008 by UNICEF Romania Goodwill Ambassador Andreea

UNICEF Romania Goodwill Ambassador Andreea Marin Bănică witha baby during the Pampers-UNICEF mission to the Central AfricanRepublic. Babies aged younger than six months are mostvulnerable. Picture: UNICEF Romania.

UNICEF FUNDRAISING

One Pack = One Vaccine has already immunised 50 million mothers and children against tetanus, and it is hopedthat the campaign will raise enough money for another 200 million vaccines. Picture: UNICEF Romania..

Fund raising is vital for UNICEF to work towards its objective of defending and promoting the rights ofchildren. At UNICEF Romania, Despina Andrei (email: [email protected]) works full time coordinatingfundraising activity. Each year UNICEF Romania launches a number of fundraising initiatives, so if you,your company or organisation would like to donate to any of them, Despina would be delighted to hearfrom you.

Voichiţa Pop, UNICEF Programme Specialist, with children in theCentral African Republic. Picture: UNICEF Romania.


Marin Bănică, who traveled to the Central African Republic, one of 47countries in which tetanus is prevalent, as part of a missioncomprising Pampers and UNICEF staff from Balkan countries. Held atHotel Sofitel, attendees at the launch were shown images ofhumanitarian efforts in the Central African Republic. It was the firsttime Romania has taken part in such a global humanitarian campaign.

Although eliminated in Western countries, including Romania, byroutine vaccination, in the developing states of Africa, Asia, LatinAmerica and other parts of the world tetanus kills one child everythree minutes. “It is hard to conceive that tens of thousands ofchildren still die every year from this disease which is so preventableby a simple vaccine. Although there are many obstacles, I am

confident that the goal of eliminating tetanus by 2012 can be achievedwith strong partnerships such as those between Pampers andUNICEF,” said Edmond McLoughney, during the launch.

Create a Doll – Help a ChildUNICEF’s Create a Doll – Help a Child is an initiative which encourageschildren, parents, grandparents, teachers, skilled professionaldesigners and aspiring designers to make a doll and then donate it toUNICEF to sell, with the funds raised going towards a UNICEF projector programme. At the launch of One Pack = One Vaccine, 25 dollscreated by Romanian children and by local and international fashiondesigners were auctioned; proceeds helped to finance thetransformation of a maternity hospital in Oradea into a Baby FriendlyHospital.

The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative is a global UNICEF effort to ensurethat all maternity facilities become centres of breastfeeding support.Since 1991 when the initiative began, almost 20,000 maternity hospitalshave been awarded BFHI status globally. To receive this designation,a facility must go through an internal and external review, and must beable to meet ten operational standards. Of Romania’s more than 200maternity facilities, ten were designated with BFH status in 1995, andthe facility in Oradea is well on the way to achieving this status.

The 25 dolls were part of more than 1,000 received from all overRomania. As well as those auctioned, another 300 were on display atthe event and available for sale. Create a Doll – Help a Child projectwas supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Research.

UNICEF raised a total of 31,000 euros from the auction and sale of dollsand from the contribution of Pampers. The highest price paid for a dollwas for Sofia, by the designer Andreea Tincu from Iaşi, which sold forRON 2000.

Among the Romanian designers who created dolls were LudmilaCorlateanu, Smaranda Almăşan, Andra Clitan, Andreea Tincu, FlorenţaCriveanu, Claudia Castrase, Ana-Maria Lungu, Adelina Ivan, MirelaDiaconu, Magdalena Ghencea, Irina Marinescu, Dorin Negrău, RăzvanCiobanu, Laura Lazăr, Adelina Ivan, Mihaela Glavan and artists atCareCutare. One doll was made by Roccobarocco (Italy) and anotherone by the French designer Laurent Lebourhis.

One Pack = One Vaccine at a glance

• Themission:toeliminatematernalandnewborntetanus.• Everyyear,anestimated140,000babiesdiefromnewborntetanusandupto30,000women

frommaternaltetanus.Thetetanusbacteriabreedsinsoil,animaldungandfeces,andcancomeintocontactwithbabiesattheverymomentoftheirbirth–inunhygienicsurroundings.Thediseaseragesthroughnewbornswithindaysoftheirexposuretothetetanusbacteriaandwithouthospitalcarealmostalwaysleadstoaswiftandpainfuldeath.

• OnePack=OneVaccinecampaignwillhelpPampersandUNICEFmakeadifferencetovulnerablemothersandbabiesaroundtheworldandhelpprotectthemagainstalife-threatening,butpreventabledisease.

• UNICEFandtheWorldHealthOrganisationpredictthattheeliminationofmaternalandnewborntetanuscouldbeachievedinthe47countrieswhereitstillremainsapublichealthproblemby2012.

• Thevaccinesdonatedinthefirstyearoftheinternationalcampaign(2008)willimpactthelivesofmothersandbabiesin17countriesinAfrica,includingAngola,Cameroon,CentralAfricanRepublic,Coted’Ivoire,DRCongo,Ethiopia,EquatorialGuinea,Gabon,Kenya,Liberia,Madagascar,Mali,Mauritania,Nigeria,Niger,SierraLeoneandTanzania.

• Throughthisthree-yearcampaign,Pampersaimstoraiseatotalof200millionvaccineswhichwillhelpUNICEFeliminatethediseasearoundtheglobe.

• Romaniacontributedmorethan1.7millionvaccinesin2008.

UNICEF Romania’s Raluca Manţa, Laura Petculeţ, Codruţa Hedeşiuand Despina Andrei, with just several of the more than 1,000 dollsmade for Create a Doll – Help a Child. Picture; UNICEF Romania

Procter & Gamble’s Ramona Brad, Ileana Cociaş, BogdanaRusescu and her daughter Ana, and Adina Mitran with the dollsthey auctioned at Create a Doll – Help a Child;Picture: UNICEF Romania

Dear UNICEF Friends,

Join us in our effort to help Romanian children fully realise their rights.Make a donation to the UNICEF bank account nr RO10BRDE450SV43465564500, openat BRD-Groupe Société Générale, code 01.Together we can make a difference for children in need. Any donation iswelcome!We thank you for your generosity.

UNICEF Team

hivandaidsinromania: takingstock hiv_aids romania report.pdfiulian petre, executive director of...

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