In some small, rural communities in Jamaica, many elderly women are the primary caregivers for HIV-positive children whose parents have died of AIDS, the Jamaica Gleaner reports (Jamaica-gleaner.com, 5/12).

According to the article, the task of taking care of orphaned children usually falls on female family members, such as aunts, grandmothers and great-grandmothers—women who are often very old.

The article also mentions problems faced by aging women who try to administer antiretroviral medications to children.

“We delayed treatment in a child who lived with a grandmother as she could not see and read instructions on the medication and therefore would not have been able to administer the drug properly,” said Dr. Tracy Evans-Gilbert, who heads a pediatric HIV/AIDS program in Jamaica.