Voices of Children and Families
The Missing Face of AIDS
Children are the missing face of AIDS. Every day, nearly 1,200 children under 15 become HIV-positive and roughly 900 die of AIDS-related illness. Daily, more than 2,700 young people aged 15-24 acquire the virus. Click here for a UNICEF photo essay on the impact of HIV on children.
Our World: AIDS and Childhood in Southern Africa
"My sister is six years old. There are no grown-ups living with us. I need a bathroom tap and clothes and shoes. And water also, inside the house. But especially, somebody to tuck me and my sister in at night. —Apiwe, aged 13
This quote begins a special series on the impact of HIV on African children by PlusNews, a source of global AIDS news and analysis run by the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). Click here for the PlusNews report.
Africa's AIDS Orphans
"I didn't want to see these kids to go to eat in the dustbin or to go to steal. Life is too difficult. I don't have a family now because of AIDS. My sister is gone; it's AIDS. My auntie is gone; it's AIDS. That's why I took these kids to stay with me also."
This quote comes from a Christian Science Monitor series profiling two South African couples who have made a home for AIDS orphans. Click here to learn more.