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Orphan crisis fuelled by AIDS and poverty

    JOHANNESBURG

    The presence of HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty and a lack of basic healthcare in Ethiopia are fuelling an orphan crisis, according to a report by the government, the UN and international aid group Save the Children.

    Research shows that an estimated 4.6 million children have already been orphaned, and the government would need a monthly sum of US $115 million - almost equal to the country's annual health budget of around $140 million - to assist them.

    Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Hassen Abdella, said the scale of the crisis was "tearing at the very fabric of childhood" in Ethiopia.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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