Worldwide there are an estimated 15 million children under the age of 18 that have been orphaned as a result of AIDS with 11.6 million of these children living in sub-Saharan Africa. Their life becomes a nightmare when they have to care for a sick and dying parent and explodes into a full blown tragedy when these children are left to fend for themselves.

As the number of parents dying of AIDS increases, fewer children have anyone to care for them when their parents are dead. Members of the extended families who traditionally would be the safety net for these newly orphaned children are taxed to the limit taking in orphaned relatives. More children are left on their own, the eldest being responsible for the wellbeing of younger siblings.

In addition to the emotional trauma of watching their parents die and becoming orphans, these children rarely have access to a reliable source of food, a home to live in, education and health care. It is not uncommon for them to be stigmatized because their parents have died of AIDS and consequently denied access to services that may be available to other children. Even those children who are left land or assets by their parents rarely get anything as relatives quickly step in and grab whatever is left behind.

As AIDS rages across Africa, NGO’s and charitable organizations are aware that in addition to educating these at risk populations on preventing AIDS and supplying drugs for treatment, solutions for the millions of orphaned children must be found. Organizations that built orphanages found they could not afford to run them. There are not enough foster families to absorb these orphans into their families and governments often turn a blind eye to the situation.

There is little argument that the best case scenario for these children is to remain with their siblings in their community under the care of family or friends. But with the number of orphans rising daily, far too many children are left to fend for themselves, begging for food, stealing or being sold into child labor or prostitution. Their future is a dark cloud looming ahead with no steady supply of food, shelter, family, education or health care in sight.

The director of UNICEF Carol Bellamy says:

If this situation is not addressed, and not addressed now with increased urgency, millions of children will continue to die, and tens of millions more will be further marginalized, stigmatized, malnourished, uneducated, and psychologically damaged.”

Unfortunately UNICEF is anti-intercountry adoption and will watch children die before they will help promote legal and ethical adoption. To date they have done everything in their power to shut down adoption in third world countries without providing any new solutions. Allowing a few thousand children a year to be adopted from any of these countries would not rob any country of their upcoming generation as their chance of survival in that country at this time is miniscule. Through adoption many of these children will probably grow up with the desire to help their fellow countrypeople when they are adults.

Adoptive parents generally involve themselves with the countries they have adopted children from sending money to worthy causes, participating in mission trips, and become spokespeople for the needs of that country. And contrary to public opinion, many adoptive parents are willing to adopt older children and sibling groups.

Not allowing adoption from these countries is a crime. UNICEF could help identify children who have no families to care for them and no hope of any kind of sustainable life. They could monitor the adoptions and prevent corruption and greed from endangering the process. Any money paid for the adoption process could be put towards caring for other children and families.

Standing by and saying “we must do something” when there are viable options such as adoption is unacceptable. It is time to erase the ugly stigma attached to intercountry adoption over the last couple years and start placing destitute AIDS orphans with families in other countries waiting with open arms and open hearts.

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