AIDS Orphans On Increase In Uganda

THE number of AIDS orphans in Uganda has increased five-fold from 177,000 in 1990 to 884,000 at the end of 2001, a joint report by three development agencies indicates, reports Charles Wendo in Barcelona. The Children on the Brink 2002 report says that out of 1.7 million orphans aged 14 and below, about half have lost one or both of their parents to AIDS.But the report projects that due to the declining HIV infection rates the number of AIDS orphans in Uganda will reduce to 790,000 in 2005 and further to 605,000 in 2010. On the contrary the figures in most countries are expected to rise further.The United Nations Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF), the joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) released the report jointly. The US Bureau of Census made the estimates. The report indicates that Uganda no longer shoulders the highest number of AIDS orphans. Nigeria has taken over with 995,000 orphans, followed by Ethiopia with 989,000, the DRC with 927,000 and Kenya with 892,000.Ends