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TEN MILLION
ORPHANS"
Those are the
heart-stopping
words on the
January 17th cover
of Newsweek
magazine. The
figure refers to
the estimated
number of
children in
Africa under the
age of 15 who will
have lost their
mothers or both
parents to AIDS by
the end of this
year. This is not
the only tragic
number that the
HIV/AIDS crisis
has given us...
* Every single
day 8,500 children
and young people
around the world
are infected with
HIV.
* Every day
2,500 women die
from AIDS.
* In 1998 alone,
the number of
women killed by
HIV/AIDS was
900,000 - more
than three times
the death toll of
the war in Bosnia.
"The scale of
the orphan crisis
is almost
unimaginable,"
said UNICEF
Executive Director
Carol Bellamy. "Before
AIDS, about 2 per
cent of all
children in
developing
countries were
orphans. By 1997,
the figure had
jumped to 7 per
cent in many
African countries
- in some
countries the
figures run as
high as 11 per
cent." "Worse, the
skyrocketing
number of AIDS
orphans is - in
addition to the
loss of life
caused by AIDS -
putting a severe
strain on
traditional
support systems in
Africa. The
grandparents who
in so many cases
are taking care of
their orphaned
grandchildren have
limited resources,"
Bellamy points
out. "They cannot
keep this up
forever." The
media has raised
its voice to call
for an end to the
conspiracy of
silence that
surrounds the HIV/AIDS
epidemic. We take
great hope in the
impact this can
have for children
in need. Please
visit our web site
at
http://www.unicefusa.org/issues00/jan00/aids.html
where you will
find detailed
information about
UNICEF's efforts
to help the
children affected
by the HIV/AIDS
epidemic, and
about how you can
help.
___________________________________________
U.S. FUND FOR
UNICEF We consider
you a special part
of the UNICEF
family. Your
desire to keep
informed about
UNICEF programs
and your request
to receive
periodic e-mail
messages about
important UNICEF
projects, sets you
aside as a special
advocate for
children. As
someone of great
importance to us,
we'd like to tell
you about an
important change.
After more than 50
years of working
for the survival,
protection, and
development of
children as the
U.S. Committee for
UNICEF, we're
beginning the new
millennium with a
new identity. On
January 1 we
became the U.S.
Fund for UNICEF.
Our mission is the
same: Saving
Children's Lives,
Building
Children's
Futures. We feel
that this change
more accurately
reflects who we
are and what we
do. Your continued
support,
friendship, and
involvement is
critical to us.
Please join us as
we start the new
year excited about
the lifesaving
accomplishments we
can continue to
achieve together.
On behalf of
the children we
serve, thank you!
United States
Fund for UNICEF
Saving Children's
Lives
* Building
Children's Futures
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