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.
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