Ethiopia: AIDS Orphans Said to Be Increasing Alarmingly

The number of Ethiopia's AIDS orphans is increasing alarmingly, a joint survey by the nation's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and UNICEF revealed Wednesday. By 2010, the percentage of AIDS orphans in Ethiopia will reach 43 percent -- or 2.2 million -- of all orphans in the country. "By 2010, 20 percent to 30 percent of all children under the age of 15 in 11 sub-Saharan African countries will have been orphaned even if new infections were to be prevented and some form of treatment could slow down the onset of AIDS in those living with HIV/AIDS," the study said. Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo are other countries where AIDS orphans are expected to increase significantly. During a three-day national conference, it was indicated that most governmental agencies in Ethiopia have not been able to develop a strategy to implement the existing HIV/AIDS policy. A major reason given for this failure, according to the study, is that the policy does not give due attention to the problem of AIDS orphans.

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