[Press Kit]

"What makes this epidemic uniquely threatening to children is the age factor," Dr Piot said. "Half of
all people with HIV become infected before they turn 25, and they typically die of AIDS while their
children are still too young to fend for themselves. Given that AIDS has claimed over 16 million
lives so far - and that the death toll is expected to keep rising - the ramifications for the children
left behind are clearly enormous."
In response to the crisis, some African communities have developed innovative care and support
programmes. The report shows that while communities are clearly still in the forefront of the
response, the sheer numbers of orphans threaten to overwhelm their efforts. Responses are still
in their infancy and scarcely commensurate with the magnitude of the problem.
"Human, financial and organisational resources are needed on a massive scale if affected
countries are to prevent this crisis from completely overwhelming health, education and other basic
services," the report says.
The report provides case studies of how the orphan crisis is being dealt with in Botswana, Malawi,
Zambia and Zimbabwe. Bellamy pointed out that, while still in their infancy, the efforts spotlighted
provide reason for hope. "When you see how these people are fighting back, how they are bearing
up under the strain of all this loss and devastation, you realise that the rest of the world cannot
simply give up hope. This report illustrates why governments must step up and help these
communities now," Bellamy said.
Eastern and southern Africa, the focus of the AIDS orphan report, is home to 4.8% of the world's
population yet has over 50% of the world's HIV-positive people and accounts for 60% of all lives
claimed by AIDS since the epidemic began.
A Call For Action
To address the situation, UNICEF, UNAIDS and the National Black Leadership Commission on
AIDS, a U.S. group active in AIDS causes, issued a "Call for Action" today, at the end of a
symposium on AIDS orphans at the United Nations in New York.
The three organisations urged governments to "break the conspiracy of silence" surrounding the
epidemic and instead to act with "openness and urgency" to fight the discrimination and ostracism
that too often accompany AIDS.
The Call for Action also included a series of recommendations for governments and communities,
including: greater access to credit, income and property for women; widespread and confidential
AIDS counselling and voluntary testing; social assistance for those who need it most; support for
the psychosocial needs of orphans; and increased community protection of women's and
children's rights.
At the global level, UNAIDS, UNICEF and BLCA urge keeping AIDS orphans high on the global
agenda, especially in the countries which are hardest hit. This means making AIDS central to
development assistance and giving AIDS orphans priority when it comes to debt relief.
For more information, please contact Anne Winter, UNAIDS, London, mobile [phone],
Lisa Jacobs, UNAIDS, Geneva, (+41 22) 791.3387, Andrew Shih, UNAIDS, New York, (+1 212)

584.5024. You may also visit the UNAIDS Home Page on the Internet for more information about
the programme (http://www.unaids,.org).