Orphan Crisis

As AIDS continues to ravage African nations the number of children being left parentless continues to rise. Often these children have lost both parents to AIDS, or have one surviving parent who is too ill to care for them. The plight of these children is one of the most overlooked aspect of the fight against AIDS. These children need for advocacy and support. These children are the future of Africa. There are wonderful organizations in place that are focused on helping, raising and supporting Africa's AIDS orphans. However, most of them are terribly under funded. 

• There are 15 million AIDS Orphans Worldwide

• It is expected there will be 2 million AIDS Orphans in South Africa by 2015.

• There are 12.1 million AIDS Orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Currently there are about 1.1 million AIDS Orphans in South Africa.

• It is expected there will be 18 million AIDS orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2010.

• 15% of AIDS orphans are 0-4 years old

• 35% of AIDS orphans are 5-9 years old

• 50% of AIDS orphans are 10-14 years old

Number of AIDS orphans per Country:

Most AIDS Orphans in Africa end up in a handful of situations:

Living with extended family members or friend
Historically this is how orphans were cared for in most African nations. Unfortunately, with the increasing AIDS epidemic families are being overwhelmed. There simply are not enough relatives that are capable of caring for all the orphans. In many areas the stigma around AIDS is still very strong. In these cases AIDS orphans are feared and pushed away from the remaining family. When extended relatives are able to take AIDS orphans there is often extreme poverty issues to work through. Extended relatives are often unable to afford school fees/uniforms, basic medical care and in some instances food for these orphans. Often these children then end up as Street Children or in Children’s Homes when there is room.

Street Children:
In most big cities in Africa one will find many street children. These children do whatever they can to survive from day today. One of the organizations I work with has taken in children as young as 3 years old who were living on the streets.

Adoption:
In some African languages there is no word for adoption. It is a new concept. Although there is an increase of adoption by families in some African nations, such as South Africa and Kenya, there are still not enough adoptive families in these countries to take in all the AIDS orphans. It is also not uncommon to see adoptive families in these countries trying to pass off adoptive children as their biological children. They often will not tell their children that they are adopted. This is due mostly to the stigma the families and adopted child would face from other family members and community. There are many families in other countries that are interested in adopting AIDS orphans from Africa. This should only be an option when there are no adoptive families within a child’s birth country. Unfortunately, in many African nations international adoption is not allowed. There is also a fear in many African nations toward international adoption. It is hard for many people to understand why those in others countries would want to adopt African orphans. There are many misconceptions driven by fear surrounding international adoption. There is fear that internationally adopted children will be used as slaves, body part donors or worse. There is also the fear that children adopted internationally will lose their culture. Although this fear has grounds, if a adopted family is truly dedicated to teaching their adopted child their culture they can do a fairly good job of doing so. No, it will not be the same as the child living in their country of birth. However, if the life they would have had in their country of birth meant no education, no family, a life of selling their body to survive and possibly death, how is this better then a loving family of their own. Hopefully, in the near future their will be a cure for AIDS and the number of AIDS orphans will greatly decrease and the need for international adoptions from Africa will diminish. In the meantime however, international adoptions of AIDS orphans from Africa, are a part of the solution. International adoption opens the door to a new world of possibilities that this orphan would otherwise not have. It is also common to see a change in whole communities when an orphan is adopted into a new community. It is hard for a community to ignore the AIDS epidemic in Africa and resulting orphan crisis when one of these precious children is a part of their community.

Children Run Households
In many areas it is not uncommon to come across families where both parents have died and the oldest sibling is left trying to raise and provide for their siblings. In some instance this means a 13 year old trying to find a way to fees and care for her younger siblings. In these situations there is not much a 13 year old can do to make money. These children often are forced into the streets to sell the one thing they have, their bodies, to feed their siblings and themselves. The oldest sibling often then contracts HIV themselves and the cycle continues. There are efforts going on to provide financial assistance to child run households take a look at the how to help page if you would like to learn more about how to help.

Children’s Homes/Orphanages
Children’s homes and orphanages are found all throughout Africa. There are a wide range in the types and quality of homes.