Orphan Facts
There are over 14 million children living as orphans due to poverty, war, HIV/AIDS and other causes, and as many as 100 million more who are living homeless on the streets.
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Orphans
There are currently 14 million orphans living in the world today, more than 130 million children have lost one of their parents.
Street Children
As many as 100 million more children are living on the streets.
Child Trafficking
Every year, 1.2 million children are victims of human trafficking
Child Labour
5.7 million children are currently working in child labour (both paid and unpaid)
Child Prostitution
2 million children world wide are currently working in the commercial sex industry
Children living with HIV AIDS
There are currently 2.3 million children under the age of 15 living with HIV AIDS
Children Affected by War
Over the past 10 years, more that 1 million children have been separated from their families as a result of armed conflict
Children without access to Education
in 2006 it was estimated that 93 million children of primary school age were not attending school
Studies show that orphaned and abandoned children are at higher risk of severe malnutrition, high mortality rates, lower levels of school attendance, and increased likelihood of child labour (both paid and unpaid). These children are also more likely to be subjected to abuse, neglect, and exploitation, not to mention the grief of losing their parents.
Among the leading causes of orphanhood is HIV/AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, the only place in the world where the number of orphans is expected to rise in the next 5 years.
According to a World Bank Report, the risk of orphanhood in sub-Saharan Africa is no longer isolated to individual cases, instead it is a systematic crisis affecting entire communities and populations.
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**Sources:
UNICEF http://www.unicef.org/media/media_20941.html,
“Children and AIDS – A stocktaking report” UNICEF January 2007
UNICEF http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_armedconflict.html
Claire O’Kane, Claudia Moedlagl, Raluca Verweijen-Slamnescu, Evelyn
Winkler (2006) Child Rights Situation Analysis: Rights-Based Situational Analysis of Children without Parental Care and at risk of losing their Parental
Care: Global Literature Scan (Innsbruck: SOS-Kinderdorf International), p.10.
UNICEF http://www.unicef.org/media/media_39528.html
The World Bank: http://web.worldbank.org
UNICEF http://www.unicef.org/sowc06/index.php