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AIDS in Africa 
As you read these words, HIV/AIDS is infecting, affecting and mercilessly claiming the lives of thousands of people on the African continent. AIDS is a silent killer, swallowing families, communities and hope. Every year, more than 3.8 million Africans are infected with HIV. So far, more than 17 million have died and at least 25 million may follow. In many African countries the average life expectancy has gone down to 35 years.
The word not spoken is AIDS. The victims don't cry out. Doctors and obituaries do not give the killer its name. Families, neighbours and friends recoil in shame and abandon those living with the disease, while leaders shirk responsibility. The stubborn silence seems to herald victory for the disease over denial. Millions of innocent children are orphaned on a daily basis: nearly 13 million children in Africa. These children silently grieve for the loss of their parents ... no-one to listen to them, no-one to comfort them and no-one to help them face the new, harsh life which awaits them. They face poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy and have little hope for the future. Most of them are cared for by elderly grandmothers or older siblings. Many more are left to fend for themselves, living on the streets, surviving amongst the garbage. And one might ask the question: What will prevent this tragedy from spilling into more homes? |