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HIV/AIDS is ravaging entire communities across the globe. Throughout Zimbabwe, hundreds of families will experience death today.  5 years ago, people walking along the roads would stop and pay tribute to a coffin making its way to the cemetery, as it was their custom.  Now, the steady flow of services for the dead make it impossible to stand and watch, as you would be standing all day.  There is a new saying in Zimbawe now about this: “We can’t afford to stop once, or we’d be stopped forever.”

Orphans are showing up on the doorsteps of our partnering churches in Africa in record numbers.  We are equipping these churches to ensure that the voices of these children are not forgotten.  We are helping educate them for the basic things that they need to learn like Math, Science, English, Ndebele, History, etc AND on the basics of HIV/AIDS.

Nothing will reverse this tide without the affected people changing the course. This will only take place with an education.

Use your voice and remember these important facts about HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe

  • 90% of the economic support currently received by AIDS-affected households (Foster, Geoff; "Bottlenecks & Drip Feeds", Save the Children Fund, pg 12, 2005)

  • 500 people will die TODAY in Zimbabwe from illnesses related to AIDS (2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, WHO)

  • Every 3 minutes, a person dies from AIDS related illnesses in Zimbabwe (2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, WHO)

  • Approximately 1,000 children become orphaned EVERYDAY in Zimbabwe (Foster, Dr. Geoff, Pediatrician in Zimbabwe, JCLIA Lecture, Harvard University, 2006)

  • 1,800,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe (2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, WHO)

  • Today, there are approximately 1,400,000 orphans as a result of all causes in Zimbabwe (2005, UNICEF - Zimbabwe)

  • By 2009, that number will climb to 2,000,000, almost 20% of the total Zimbabwean population (Foster, Dr. Geoff, Pediatrician in Zimbabwe, CLIA Lecture, Harvard University, 2006)

  • Because of HIV/AIDS and the poor economic conditions, the median age is only 20.3 years old (CIA Factbook: Zimbabwe, July 24, 2008)

  • Within the greater Bulawayo area, where most of FVI's projects are located, the HIV/AIDS infection rate is estimated to be 37% (Our own in-country local medical partners private assessments)

Other Info Links on HIV/AIDS

AIDS.ORG

The Body: The Complete AIDS Resource


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


International AIDS Society

National Institute of Health: AIDS Info

UNAIDS

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