The Challenge

(Data supplied by UNAIDS 2006 Global Report)

To date, around 65 million people have been infected with HIV and AIDS, which have killed more than 25 million people since the virus was first recognized in 1981. The vast majority of the 38.6 million people living with HIV in 2005 were unaware of their status. AIDS is among the greatest development and security issues facing the world today.

In 2005, AIDS claimed the lives of 2.8 million people, and over 4 million people were newly infected with the virus.

At around 17.3 million, women make up almost half of the total number of people living with the virus-- 3.2 million of which live in sub-Saharan Africa (76% of all women living with HIV).

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region in the world. Two-thirds of all people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa, where 24.5 million people are living with HIV in 2005. Click here to download the 2-page UNAIDS report on Sub-Saharan Africa.

2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic

Anti Retroviral Treatments (ART) have been developed to prolong the lives of people living with HIV. The cost of these treatments often put them out of reach to those who need them the most. Nine out of every ten people who need ART - the majority of them in Sub-Saharan Africa - are not receiving it. If this low level of treatment coverage continues, five to six million people will die of AIDS in the next two years (UNAIDS, 2004).

The people who are affected the most are orphans in Africa. AIDS has killed one or both parents of an estimated 12 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Far too many of these orphans are not properly cared for, and do not receive antiretroviral treatment.

"We wanted to stay together after our parents and grandparents died of AIDS. I want to go back to school, but there is no money. I must work hard to get a good life, and look after myself not to get the disease my mother and father had." - Felix, 15 years old, the sole income earner in a household that includes his five younger siblings and an 80-year-old great uncle.

In South Africa, the number of orphans is expected to increase from 2.2 million (12% of all children) in 2003 to 3.1 million (18% of all children) by 2010.

Our challenge is to bring life-prolonging drugs to these children and give them a chance to live a full and productive life.

Sources:
UNAIDS Report

Information:
An orphan is defined as a child under the age of 18 who has had at least one parent die.  A child whose mother has died is known as a maternal orphan, and a child whose father has died is a paternal orphan. A child who has lost both parents is a double orphan. Roses & Rosemary works to provide treatment for children that have lost both parents.

Child within our sponsorship program in South Africa