Keeping 18.4 million children from becoming orphans
Posted on Mar 3, 2011
By Mary Kay Smith-Fawzi
In compiling a paper this morning, I came across some statistics I wanted to share.
In 2001, the World Bank estimated the number of children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS would be 35 million in 2010.
In 2010, UNICEF reported an estimate of 16.6 million children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS worldwide (less than half of the original projection prior to GFATM, PEPFAR, and WHO's 3 by 5 program).
Although many societal influences had driven the development of these programs in the past 10 years, PIH and our broader efforts have played a part in this sea change.
Imagine, each of these 18.4 million children now have parents; without this sea change of increased ART access these children would have been orphaned.
However, there is a long way to go, and 16.6 million orphans is highly significant without doubt.
Sometimes it's hard to see 'progress' in light of the continued suffering we see every day, so I wanted to share this. Everyone receiving this email has played a part in this progress, and we shouldn't lose sight of this. At the same time, it's a reminder to keep up the good fight, since there is still a long way to go.
Dr. Smith-Fawzi recently emailed the above note to staff at PIH and institutional partners. She is an epidemiologist for Partners In Health and an Instructor for the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
