The rapidly increasing number of AIDS orphans worldwide is one of the most serious consequences of the AIDS epidemic today. It is estimated that more than 13 million children currently under 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. In Asia, the rapid spread of the infection in China is having a devastating impact on that country's children, and threatens to become an epidemic with significant social and demographic repercussions due to the rapid rise in the population of AIDS orphans.
Many rural Chinese villages that up to now have had very few orphans have seen their rates soar following the AIDS-related deaths of their parents as a result of contaminated blood transfusions. Until recently, relatives used to take care of such children. But because in many cases those relatives are now affected by HIV/AIDS, they become unable to provide basic support to children in their extended families.
Although Thailand has the largest number of AIDS orphans -- usually defined as children under 15 who have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS -- their number is fast increasing in other Asian countries. Thailand has seen significant reductions in the number of new infections thanks to effective health-promotion and disease-prevention strategies.