ZOA

Zambian Orphans Appeal

 Diseases affecting the country:

Malaria                                      

Malaria is a deadly disease.

The sleeping facilities need to be protected from mosquitoes which can carry malaria. Treated mosquito nets prevent bites during night-time, and kill mosquitoes.

 

HIV/AIDS

“HIV-AIDS is now the leading cause of death in sub-saharan Africa. Worldwide, it is the fourth-biggest killer.” (World Health Organisation)

  •  In Sub-Saharan Africa there are an estimated 25 million people infected with AIDS
  • Two million people die from AIDS every year in Africa
  • More people in Africa died of AIDS in 2000 alone than in all the wars fought on the African Continent
  • Twelve million children have been made orphans

 The problem throughout Southern Africa:

Sub-Saharan Africa is now a region ravaged by the effects of the HIV/Aids pandemic – over 25 million people there are estimated to be HIV+, (about one in four persons affected). Untreated, with no effective immune system defence, victims soon die from other Aids-related diseases, particularly TB.

Much is being done to sensitise the local population about the threat posed by the disease, but the relatively high cost of anti-retroviral drugs (which can prolong the life of an HIV+ patient for some 10 years or so) has meant that in places, an entire generation has already been wiped out.  The legacy of this disease is being felt now with growing numbers of orphans being cared for traditionally by their extended families, or forced to live as street-children.

                                                                             

Zambia:

The HIV/Aids pandemic is perhaps nowhere worse than in the impoverished country of Zambia, where an estimated one-in-five persons are HIV+. The life expectancy of a Zambian is an appalling 35 years. An entire generation has virtually been wiped out, leaving hundreds of thousands of orphaned children in a country with a population of only about 9 million.

 

Fortunately, testing for the HIV virus as well as anti-retroviral drugs are now available free of charge, but many still refuse to be tested through ignorance and fear.

 

 

Other diseases 

The following are some of the diseases which can be found in Zambia.