Africa: Orphans 'Most Neglected' Part of Fight Against HIV/AIDS

Orphans are the "most neglected" part of the war against HIV/AIDS, "perhaps because they are the living, and, for some, shameful reminders of a disease gone rampant," UNICEF Canada President David Agnew writes in a Vancouver Sun opinion piece. There are 11.5 million AIDS orphans in Africa, and the number could grow to 20 million by 2010, Agnew says. In Zimbabwe, although the majority of orphans are cared for by their relatives, the "sheer number combined with the wretched economy ... has put enormous strain on those supports ... [and] orphans are increasingly left to fend for themselves," Agnew says.