AIDS

Christian Century, Oct 24, 2001

* In the past two decades, at least 13 million people younger than 15 worldwide have lost one or both parents to the AIDS disease, according to a new report from the Save the Children fund. "This figure underestimates the true scale of the problem," conceded the report, released October 9 at the Sixth International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.

About 36.1 million people worldwide live with HIV/AIDS. Often spurned by their communities, many AIDS orphans face substandard institutional care or must contend with homelessness and sexual exploitation, the report concluded. The document emphasized community-based care over institutionalization. "Many of these children will find their way onto the streets where they are vulnerable to HIV infection," Webb told Reuters news agency.