Monday, November 26, 2007

Orphans in India

India today is home to the largest number of AIDS orphans in the world (the UN estimates children orhaned by AIDS as those under the age of 18 who have lost one or both parents to the disease). While India's AIDS orphan crisis is not as dire as Africa's, it is on the trajectory Africa was during the last decade. With widespread migrant labor, prostitution and a stigma about sexually-transmitted diseases causing an explosion in AIDS cases, India is expected to become the next epicenter of the AIDS orphan crisis. Though there are no government figures in the country for the number of children affected by AIDS, World Bank estimates suggest that the number of children in India orphaned by AIDS is approaching 2 million.
Who among us will help these children?

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