For instance, today, December 1, is World AIDS Day.
If you look at the statistics, 30.8 million adults were living infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide the end of 2009. There were also 2.5 million children, most of them being perinatal (meaning, they received the infection from their mother in utero).
That isn’t taking into account the millions who die from AIDS every year.
As it stands, AIDS is a humanitarian endemic. Those numbers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia are mind-blowing.
What happens to the children? I’m not only referring to the children who are infected with the disease, I’m referring to those who have lost a parent to AIDS. In some countries, over 70% of all orphans are because of AIDS.
They begin to suffer from depression and anger, studies show. They experience exploitation and abuse. Even while the parent is alive, quite often, they feel emotional and physical neglect.
They aren’t cared for, long before the parent dies. They have a social stigma after the parent dies, because of suspicion of their own status. Their remaining family, if it exists, cannot afford to take care of them.
Of course, some children in Swaziland simply raise themselves. But that is not a solution.
Just some points to think about when you read headlines with statistics.
