Orphans and vulnerable children due to aids in Africa

The AIDS epidemic has hit children head-on in many ways. By reaching their parents, the AIDS epidemic deprives the family of its foundations and resources. Children living in families affected by the disease are made vulnerable well before the death of their parents infected with HIV, and all the more when their parents die. This document does not deal with the medical support of children infected by HIV/AIDS but rather with the family, social, and institutional support of children affected by HIV/AIDS. It offers both a synthesis based on available data on children who have at least one parent infected with HIV/AIDS, and an interactive bibliographical database. It aims to make the literature on these themes accessible to the reader. The synthesis includes figures and reports published by international organizations, research findings from demographers and sociologists on the family and traditional systems of solidarity between generations in Africa, studies regarding vulnerability and support of AIDS orphans in Africa.