New York Times Profiles Plight of AIDS Orphans in Southern Africa
The New York Times on Dec. 24 profiled the plight of AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, where 11 million children under age 15 have lost at least one parent to AIDS, according to UNICEF's "State of the World's Children 2004" report, which was released last month. The social implications of the region's large number of orphans are "enormous" because orphans are more likely than other children to drop out of school, be malnourished, be homeless, be exploited by adults, engage in sex work or criminal activity and contract HIV, according to the Times. Although African social traditions expect relatives to care for orphans, AIDS has "pushed so many families to the brink" that many have been forced to turn relatives away, the Times reports. In addition, governments have done little to address the problem -- only six of the 40 sub-Saharan African countries have plans in place to deal with orphans, according to the Times (LaFraniere, New York Times, 12/24).
NPR's "Morning Edition" on Dec. 31 reported on the UNICEF report. The segment includes comments from UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy (Beaubien, "Morning Edition," NPR, 12/31/03). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on Dec. 30 reported on the UNICEF report and orphans and grandmothers affected by HIV/AIDS in Kenya. The segment includes comments from Bellamy and Sister Mary Philip, assistant director of the international agency Help Age (Hagler, "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," PBS, 12/30/03). The complete transcript of the segment is available online. The complete segment also is available online in RealPlayer.