10% For Children
Over 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. Less than one in ten of these children receive any external support. It is time to make children a priority in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Governments should direct at least 10% of their HIV and AIDS funding to support AIDS orphans and vulnerable children.
Tell your world leaders to act! Your voice is their future.
Thanks to the efforts of advocates, donors, governments and aid organizations, there is reason for hope in the fight against HIV and AIDS. New cases have declined from 2.2 million new cases in 2001 in sub-Saharan Africa to 1.7 million this year – and access to drug treatment is steadily expanding. The world is slowly making progress… However the needs of millions of children orphaned by AIDS are being ignored.
We are Neglecting the Needs of 90% of Orphans
Despite progress preventing and treating AIDS, we are ignoring the basic needs of millions of AIDS orphans. UNAIDS estimates that over US $4 billion is needed to implement a comprehensive response to AIDS orphans and vulnerable children over the next two years, but much less than this amount is actually available.
As a result of this funding gap, fewer than one in ten AIDS orphans receive external support. Millions of children are growing up deprived of education, basic needs such as food, water and shelter; and are at high risk of HIV infection, discrimination, exploitation and violence in the form of forced labor, prostitution and drug trafficking. By 2010, another estimated five to ten million children will have lost at least one parent from AIDS. Read more.
10 Percent for Children
We cannot afford to neglect the children left behind by AIDS. We must make children a priority in the battle against HIV and AIDS. Significantly increased funding is needed in order to appropriately respond to the growing crisis of orphans and vulnerable children around the world.
World leaders and policy makers must direct at least 10% of HIV and AIDS funding to orphans and vulnerable children. To date, the governments of the UK, US and Ireland have passed legislation promising 10% for orphans and vulnerable children. But the promises and legislation are unfulfilled as they meander through government bureaucracy. We must hold leaders and policy makers accountable to their promises. We must advocate for more governments to follow their lead. Tell world leaders to act.
