Fact Sheet : REGIONAL FACT SHEET ON CHILDREN IN EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

Children make up a very high proportion of the region’s population. More than 50% of the population in East and Southern Africa are children. One in every six children in the region (28 million) have lost one or both parents. The leading cause of this orphaning is due to HIV and AIDS. The HIV pandemic is still at catastrophically high levels in sub‐Saharan Africa. The region accounts for approximately 67% HIV infections worldwide and 72% of the world’s AIDS‐related deaths