Help The Children of The World

The suffering that happens in this world every day is horrifying. It is especially horrific when the suffering is being felt by children.

Children and Health

• An estimated 11 million children under age five die each year from preventable or treatable diseases. In 2004, an estimated 10.5 million children died before they reached age five, most from preventable diseases. (World Health Organization)
• In 2002, vaccine-preventable diseases killed 1.2 million children - 14 percent of global deaths among children. (World Health Organization)
• Each year, more than 10 million children in low- and middle-income countries die before reaching their fifth birthday. Seven in 10 of these deaths are due to just five preventable and treatable conditions, or often a combination of them: pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles, and malnutrition. (World Health Organization)
• There are an estimated 150 million children with disabilities in the world, most of whom face discrimination in one form or another. (UNICEF)
• One in five deaths of children under age five in Africa is attributable to malaria. (Roll Back Malaria)
• Malaria kills a child in Africa every 30 seconds. Many children who survive malarial episodes often struggle with learning impairments or brain damage. (Roll Back Malaria)
• More than 150 million episodes of pneumonia are estimated to occur each year among children under age five in developing countries. Twenty percent of those cases are fatal. (World Health Organization)
• Pneumonia is the leading killer of children - more than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined with approximately 2 million deaths each year. (World Health Organization)
• Two hundred million children under age five are malnourished. (Global Health Council)

Orphans and Vulnerable Children

• By 2010, the number of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS globally is expected to reach 20 million. (Global AIDS Alliance)
• More than 90 percent of all orphans in sub-Saharan Africa are cared for by their extended families. (UNICEF)
• Less than 10 percent of children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS are receiving any type of support. (UNICEF)
• In sub-Saharan Africa, by 2005, 15 million children had lost a parent to AIDS. (AVERT)
• Twelve percent of all children in sub-Saharan Africa are orphans. One quarter of them lost a parent to HIV/AIDS. (UNICEF)
• In 11 of the 43 countries in Africa, more than 15 percent of children are orphans, where AIDS is the cause of parental death from 11 to 78 percent of the time. (UNICEF)
• AIDS is more likely than any other cause of death to create double orphans - children who have lost BOTH parents. (UNICEF)
• In 2001, 15 percent of children in 10 sub-Saharan African countries had lost one or more parents to AIDS. (World Bank)
• There are 143 million orphans worldwide as a result of all causes. (UNICEF)
• Children whose mothers are dying or have already died are nearly four times more likely to die within the following two years than children whose mothers are healthy. (UNICEF)
• An estimated US$4.7 billion will be needed in 2007-2008 to meet the needs of OVC. (UNAIDS)

• The U.S. government (through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) reported spending US$225 million on OVC in 2007 - less than .7 percent of the U.S. foreign aid budget. (U.S. Department of State)

These numbers are astonishing and we should all care...
To find out how you can help by donating, spreading the word, or reaching out to congress
visit GLOBAL ACTION FOR CHILDREN.

Global Action for Children is a nonpartisan, results-oriented coalition dedicated to advocating for orphans and vulnerable children in the developing world.