World AIDS Day 2006: Keeping the Promise for Children
Source: Save the Children - Australia
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Keeping the Promise for Children
Every year on December 1st, we are reminded that AIDS is a children’s issue.More than 15 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents to the disease, and experts predict that number will rise to more than 25 million by 2010.
What happens to these children? They are left to care for ill parents or younger siblings. They are often stigmatised and ostracised by their communities and classmates. Many drop out of school.But the picture is not always grim. When countries and communities step in to provide care and support for these children, young lives can be changed.Starting in 1996, Save the Children began working with communities in Malawi to address the rampant increase in HIV infection and discuss courses of action to take for children affected by this crisis. Today, our programs reach hundreds of thousands of children in 14 countries.This World’s AIDS Day, help us keep the promise to fight AIDS and give these children hope for a better life.Want to know more? Read about some of the Myths and Realities about Children and HIV/AIDS
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