About HIV and AIDS

AIDS is a very serious illness caused by a virus called HIV.

HIV is dangerous because it can lead to people dying. It does this by slowly destroying the body’s way of protecting itself - “the immune system”.

People who have had HIV for a long time can become extremely weak and get ill very easily.

When doctors say that someone has developed AIDS it means that their body has reached a point where it can no longer protect itself from illness. When this happens, a person can easily become very ill with a serious disease like pneumonia or cancer.

In Malawi, HIV has spread on a massive scale – it has become what is called an “epidemic”. About one in every seven grown-ups in Malawi now has HIV. As Malawi is a poor country, people do not have the medical help they need and many grown-ups go on to develop AIDS, become very ill and die.

This is why around 600,000 Malawian children have been orphaned by AIDS.

Find out more about HIV and AIDS


Q: What do HIV and AIDS stand for?

HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus

AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome



Q: What’s the difference between HIV and AIDS?

HIV is a virus that makes people very weak and stops their body being able to heal itself.

A person has AIDS when HIV makes them so weak that they can’t fight off diseases or recover from sickness.

More information: If you would like more information, ask a parent or guardian to send off for our information sheet.



Q: How do people get HIV?

Babies and children born in the UK almost never get HIV.

HIV is passed from one person to another through some (not all) body fluids, like blood or a mother’s breast milk. This is why some children in Malawi have the virus.

You can’t get HIV from someone’s:

  • saliva (spit)
  • urine
  • tears

You don’t get HIV by:

  • sitting next to someone
  • hugging or kissing someone
  • being friends with someone
  • being nice to someone if they cry
  • swimming with someone
  • going to the toilet after someone
  • being sneezed or coughed on

I’d like more information: If you would like more information, ask a parent or guardian to send off for our information sheet.



Q: Do children ever get HIV?

Children born in poorer countries like Malawi do sometimes get HIV from their mothers when they are born or when their mother is breastfeeding them.

Babies and children born in the UK almost never get HIV. This is because in the UK, we have the right tests and because there are more hospitals and doctors.

I’d like more information: If you would like more information, ask a parent or guardian to send off for our information sheet.



Q: Do people in the UK get HIV?

Yes, there are some people in the UK who have HIV but they are very few compared with the number of people who have the virus in Malawi.

In the UK, we have lots of doctors, nurses and teachers who give grown-ups advice about how not to get HIV and medicines to help people who are ill.

People with HIV in the UK are looked after well by doctors and usually enjoy a good, normal life for many years.

You cannot get HIV from doing ordinary things like being friends with someone who has HIV, kissing them, hugging them, or sharing their drink. People with HIV should be treated just like everyone else.

I’d like more information: If you would like more information, ask a parent or guardian to send off for our information sheet.



Q: Could I get HIV?

  • Children born in the UK almost never get HIV.
  • Not many grown-ups in the UK have HIV either.

I’d like more information: If you would like more information, ask a parent or guardian to send off for our information sheet.



AIDS in Malawi

AIDS is a big problem in poor countries like Malawi because these countries do not have enough money to give people the medical care they need. There are not enough doctors, nurses or medicines to help everybody.

This means that many grown-ups get HIV and die because of AIDS, even though medical care could stop this from happening.

In Malawi, an adult dies every nine minutes because of AIDS, and 600,000 children have become orphans because of it.

Many people who have been affected by HIV or AIDS are treated unfairly or even bullied, including children who have been orphaned. This is because there are lots of false rumours about the illness. This can make children who have been orphaned by AIDS feel even more alone.

Children’s Corners are clubs to help children who are having a really tough time because of AIDS. Every day, children can go to the Children’s Corner to be looked after by caring grown-ups, make friends, play games, and be happy.

The Blue Peter Shoe Biz Appeal is going to help UNICEF set up Children’s Corners in villages all over Malawi.



Q: Why do so many people with HIV die?

When people have had HIV for a long time they cannot fight off serious diseases any more.

At this point, doctors say they have developed AIDS.

If a person who has developed AIDS gets a serious illness like cancer or malaria, they just can’t fight the illness any more and so, very sadly, they will die.

I’d like more information: If you would like more information, ask a parent or guardian to send off for our information sheet.


Photo Credits: UNICEF/HQ05-1782/Giacomo Pirozzi; UNICEF/ HQ97-0255/Jeremy Horner; UNICEF/HQ04-1216/Ami Vitale; UNICEF/HQ06-1392/Giacomo Pirozzi; UNICEF/ HQ98-1166/Shehzad Noorani; UNICEF/HQ05-1995/Shehzad Noorani