WFP tackles rising number of AIDS orphans

Zambia's high number of HIV/AIDS orphans has forced the World Food Programme (WFP) to scale up its assistance in some of the country's urban centres. WFP information officer, Lena Savelli, told the UN news service Plusnews that while Zambia's food security continued to improve, there was growing concern over the plight of vulnerable children. When the programme started early in 2003, WFP was feeding some 30,000 vulnerable children and 10,000 poor households. The programme now reaches 49,155 children in community schools and 22,790 households. "We are not feeding nearly as many people as we did last year, but the lack of coping mechanisms among the most vulnerable households, especially AIDS orphans, remains extremely serious," Savelli said. It is estimated that there are between 1 million and 1.8 million HIV/AIDS orphans in the country, most of whom are left to support households after the death of a parent.