World Orphans
UNICEF and global partners define an orphan as a child who has lost one or both parents. This definition contrasts with concepts of orphan in many industrialized countries, where a child must have lost both parents to qualify as an orphan. UNICEF and numerous international organizations adopted the broader definition of orphan in the mid-1990s as the AIDS pandemic began leading to the death of millions of parents worldwide, leaving an ever increasing number of children growing up without one or more parents. So the terminology of a ‘single orphan’ – the loss of one parent – and a ‘double orphan’ – the loss of both parents – was born to convey this growing crisis. However, this difference in terminology can have concrete implications for policies and programming for children. For example, UNICEF’s ‘orphan’ statistic might be interpreted to mean that globally there are 132 million children in need of a new family, shelter, or care. This misunderstanding may then lead to responses that focus on providing care for individual children rather than supporting the families and communities that care for orphans and are in need of support. Of the more than 132 million children classified as orphans, only 13 million have lost both parents. Evidence clearly shows that the vast majority of orphans are living with a surviving parent, grandparent, or other family member. 95 per cent of all orphans are over the age of five. According to News 24, South Africas premier news source, Zimbabwe has the most orphans. Their claim comes reportably from a Unicef study compiled on December 26, 2006. Harare - Zimbabwe has the highest percentage of orphaned children in the world, said Unicef.The United Nations Children's' Fund (Unicef) said on Tuesday that 1.6 million of Zimbabwe's children, or one in four, were orphaned, in most cases because of HIV/Aids. The orphans represented 13% of Zimbabwe's population of about 12 million. "HIV and Aids have dramatically increased children's vulnerability in recent years to the point where Zimbabwe now has the highest percentage of children who are orphans in the world," said Unicef's country representative Festo Kavishe. The troubled southern African nation also has the world's highest official inflation
and the fastest shrinking economy outside a war zone. The statistics change constantly but at the time they were quoting around 100,000. These numbers may or may not include temporary placed youth.As you can see there is a discrepancy in the number of reported orphans. This is due to the inability of agencies to recieve up to date information on total numbers. Suffice it to say there are many more orphans than we should have in our world. We as human's have a moral obligation to take care of the needy, especially children.
There are 143,000,000 Orphans in the world today and the numbers are increasing daily.Orphan Statistics:Every 15 seconds, another child becomes an aids orphan in Africa. Every day 5,760 more children become orphans.Every year 2,102,400 more children become orphans in Africa.143,000,000 orphans in the world today spend an average of 10 years in an orphanage or foster home. In Ukraine and Russia 10% -15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18. 60% of the girls are lured into prostitution. 70% of the boys become hardened criminals.Many of these children accept job offers that ultimately result in their being sold as slaves. Millions of girls are sex slaves today, simply because they were unfortunate enough to grow up as orphans. Reliable statistics are difficult to find, even the sources often list only estimates, and street children are rarely included. But even if these figures are exaggerated by double, it is still an unacceptable tragedy that over a Million children would still become orphans every year, and every year 7 Million children would still grow to adulthood as orphans with no one to belong to and no place to call home. They are totally vulnerable.
Orphans of the World: According to the official 2008 UNICEF estimate there are 145 million orphans worldwide. It is estimated there are 130 million orphans in the developing world.However, these numbers are somewhat misleading as they include children who have at least one surviving parent. After removing the children classified as orphans that have one surviving parent there are 15 million children that have no parent. Orphans are children that grow up without any parent to aid in their development, to nourish them, and to love them.Often times they will reach adulthood with emotional issues. Sometimes they mask there emotions through the use of alcohol or illicit drugs. Usually, they have not been taught how to give or receive love. Is that there fault? I think not. It is a fault of society. There is a responsibility that we share to ensure that children of our world are raised in a safe, secure, and loving environment. Forty nine percent of the world's under developed countries are made up of children under the age of eighteen.Sixteen hundred woman and ten thousand newborns die every day of complications from poverty that could have been prevented. According to UNICEF ten million children die each year as a direct result of poverty and two thirds of those deaths were preventable.
There has been an onging debate about which country has the most orphans in the world. I have seen claims that Africa has the most orphans, that India has the most orphans, that Romania has the most orphans. It is difficult to determne which statistics are correct as there are many orphans that go unaccounted for due to poverty conditions. Children that live on the streets, that beg for food, that have no home to go to in the night, that are unloved, unwanted, and uncared for are a growing number. I am not sure which country has the most orphans but I do know that to have uncared for orphans in any society is a condition that should not be tolerated. Children are a precious commodity and it is in the hands of the children of the world that the future of all humanity will be determined. No one knows where the future leaders will come from but I hope that they have been loved, nourished, and cared for with respect.The personality of a person is formed within the first 5 years of there life. That is a crucial time to learn about love. Love of home, love of family, love of friends, and God's Love. It is during that period of life that your values and virtues are established by your role models. A child who receives love will give love. Hopefully, those will be the children that will lead the world of tomorrow.
