11 Jun 2009 - In the News
James Elder, working for UNICEF in Zimbabwe, creates a fascinating photo journal for BBC exploring the effects of AIDS on Zimbabwe, a country with more orphans per capita than any other in the world.
Elder, with photographs by Giacomo Pirozz, highlights the plight of Zimbabwe's nearly 1.6 million orphaned children- a number that grows faster by the moment. On a daily basis, nearly 400 adults will die of HIV-related causes and leave 70 children orphaned. The risks for these orphaned children are very real, particularly for young girls, who are three times more likely to become infected with HIV and are more susceptible to abuse and forced marriages than those whose parents are alive.
While most of these orphans will be taken in by extended relatives, the vast majority of this burden falls upon grandparents, who struggle to provide and care for children in their advanced age.
To read more about the situation in Zimbabwe and view the photographs, visit the BBC’s website: here
