Building "Bridges" to Equity.

Beyond the tremendous grief and psychological toll, the loss of a parent often reduces income for the family;loss of a maternal parent in particular is associated with increases in malnutrition and death in sub-Saharan Africa 1,2 Orphaned children are at increased risk of loss of education 3 HIV is still a highly stigmatized condition in many places, and the loss of a parent combined with this stigmatization can lead to mental health issues such as depression Safety net policies, designed to prevent households from falling below a minimum threshold of poverty or health, could be deployed;indeed, decoupling health access from the abilityto pay through Universal Health Care Coverage policies is one of the most prominent of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs un org/goals) A 2014 observational study in South Africa found that "cash plus care" (microtransfer plus "care" in the form of positive parenting and teacher-mentor support) was the most effective measure at reducing HIV risk behavior in adolescent girls, and the only effective measure in adolescent boys