the VANISHING AIDS generation

For the first time in modern African history, a prime generation is being eliminated by the AIDS pandemic. As this generation falls ill, it is ageing mothers who take on the awesome responsibility of not only caring for their desperately ill progeny, but also raising their grandchildren as the ‘middle’ generation slowly disappears. Here, is a glimpse at the life of Amon and Elizabeth. Amon’s body has withered from the ravages of the virus; the love of his mother Elizabeth, an impoverished widowed woman, and the support of his selfless family help to reduce his agony. The tragedy is that he, like so many other African men, refused to be tested early for the virus and therefore diminished his chances for survival. Amon died a few weeks after these images were captured. Kamughobe, Uganda