How many children orphaned and made vulnerable by AIDS does World Vision care for?
Though the exact number is not known, World Vision cares for hundreds of thousands of children orphaned by AIDS in Africa and other regions. A significant number of World Vision’s 2.4 million sponsored children — especially the more than 800,000 sponsored children in Africa — may have been orphaned or made vulnerable to the disease. Also, World Vision mobilizes and trains volunteer caregivers to assist orphans and vulnerable children. These caregivers provide assistance to thousands more children who are not covered by sponsorship; however, the exact number is not known. Because of the social stigma associated with the disease, it is impossible to know exactly how many orphans have lost their parents to AIDS-related causes. In fact, the prohibitive cost of HIV testing prevents many Africans from becoming aware of their HIV status or that of their loved ones.
