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Major threats to children are poverty and AIDS - UN

    JOHANNESBURG

    The biggest threats facing South Africa's children are HIV/AIDS and poverty, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

    In its newly released report, 'The State of the World's Children 2005', the agency says an estimated 1.1 million children had lost both parents to HIV/AIDS in 2003, and over 40,000 households were headed by children.

    About three-quarters of the country's children are also living below the poverty line.

    UNICEF has urged the government to "adopt a human rights-based approach to social and economic development" and "implement socially responsible development policies that keep children specifically in mind".

    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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