PRnewswire - October 19, 2000

The initiative will bring much-needed medical, economic and educational interventions, as well as counseling and protection, to these children and their families. The partnership is made up of Plan International and Childreach, its US member; CARE; Save the Children; and the World Conference on Religion and Peace. Recently, an African AIDS advocacy group, the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA), joined the partnership.

"To develop a truly viable program we must learn from and build upon the incredible work already being done by Africans in caring for their children," says Samuel Worthington, CEO of Childreach. "To achieve that we need the involvement of organizations such as the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa."

Galvanizing this partnership is the burgeoning demand for effective and deliverable services that address community problems as well as tackle the issue of AIDS on a pan-African scale. To do this, Hope for African Children will rely on the resources of new and existing African institutions -- as well as those of international relief organizations -- to efficiently identify and meet children's needs. The Hope for African Children initiative marks an important step toward creating a coalition of African organizations to offer services to children orphaned or otherwise made vulnerable by the AIDS pandemic.

Currently in an intensive planning stage, the initiative will begin implementation next summer. Until recently, Hope for African Children had been functioning under the working title Bringing Hope to Children: Community-Based Solutions for African Children Affected by HIV/AIDS.

Of the estimated 34.3 million people around the world infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), more than 24 million live in sub-Saharan Africa, and the disease has orphaned over 13 million African children under the age of 15. That number is projected to reach 20 million within 10 years.

Millions more live in families where one or both parents are infected with HIV. Although only 10 percent of the world's population is in Africa, it accounts for 75 percent of the world's HIV infections. The United States Census Bureau now predicts the average life expectancy of Sub-Saharan Africans will fall to 30 years within the next decade, devastating the area socially and economically. HIV/AIDS is already the region's leading killer, claiming the lives of 5,500 children, women and men every day.

For additional information on Hope for African Children contact: Carol Donnelly of Childreach, 401-738-5600, or Peggy A. Brown of gabbegroup for Hope for African Children, 212-220-4444.

SOURCE Hope for African Children

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