DAUGHTERS OF A KING
ETHIOPIAN ORPHANS and HIV / AIDS
Reported by : Ebony Murrell DOAK Magazine
Red Ribbon Symbol - World AIDS Day Image Artwork by OnPath TM Graphics
The HIV / AIDS Global Pandemic Human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( AIDS ) are pandemic and is one of the world ' s greatest challenges to global public health .
A pandemic is an “ epidemic occurring worldwide , or over a very wide area , crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people . ”
-Dictionary of Epidemiology
According to the United Nations Program on AIDS ( UNAIDS ), there were approximately 36.7 million people worldwide living with HIV / AIDS at the end of 2015 . Of these , 1.8 million were children ( under the age of 15 ).
It is estimated that 2.1 million individuals were newly infected with HIV in 2015 . Currently , only 60 % of people with HIV know their status , with the remaining 40 % ( over 14 million people ) still needing access to HIV testing services .
Since the start of the epidemic , 78 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and an estimated 35 million have died from AIDS-related illness , including 1.1 million in 2015 ( UNAIDS ).
HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa The vast majority of people living with HIV are low- and middle-income countries . Sub-Saharan Africa ( SSA ) is the region of the world most severely affected by HIV and AIDS . This consists of all African countries that are fully or partially located south of the Sahara Desert .
Uganda , Kenya , and Tanzania were among the countries where the HIV epidemic was first recognized , in the early 1980s . By 2000 , an estimated 25.3 million people in SSA had been infected ( CDC ).
HIV and AIDS have exacted a terrible toll on children and their families . During the 30 years of the global HIV epidemic , an estimated 17 million children lost one or both parent due to AIDS . Ninety percent of these children live in SSA . In addition , 3.4 million children under the age of 15 are living with HIV . Despite the decline of HIV prevalence in adults worldwide , the number of children affected by or left vulnerable to HIV remains alarmingly high ( USAID ).