AIDS In Africa
We've provided a number of links to learn about this problem. They come from respected sources like the UN, the US Agency for International Development, CDC and UNICEF.
- UNAIDS - Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
- UN's International Children's Emergency Fund
- AIDS Info - an online resource by the South African Government
- USAID - the United States Agency for International Development
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The statistics alone are daunting. The country of Tanzania has 35 million citizens, 1/3 of them infected, and 3.8 million dead. These adults have left behind a generation of children - currently numbered at 1.5 million, without families to love and care for them. Often the extended family is also sick or is afraid the children might be infected, and is unwilling to take them in. Facts about AIDS are not well-known, and people are frightened to talk about it.
Country |
Percentage of Orphans younger |
# Orphans younger than |
HIV infection in |
Zimbabwe |
76.8% |
782,000 |
33.7% |
Botswana |
70.5% |
69,000 |
38.8% |
Zambia |
65.4% |
572,000 |
21.5% |
Swaziland |
58.8% |
35,000 |
33.4% |
Kenya |
53.8% |
892,000 |
15.0% |
Congo |
33.9% |
930,000 |
4.9% |
Uganda |
51.1% |
880,000 |
5.0% |
Even for countries like Uganda, which have significantly lowered their infection rates, the peak numbers of AIDS orphans appear 10 years after the infection rate peaks.
Source: Michael Hodge. "Fighting HIV/AIDS: A Strategic Review." UNICEF, June 2004.
Many of these newly-orphaned children live on the streets without food or shelter where they are exploited by unscrupulous individuals; to survive, many engage in the same acts that lead to their parents' deaths. Others travel in packs stealing and committing crimes for food to get by. Their life is equally cruel and short.
