10. South Africa
Orphan population: 3.5 million
In the country that has the highest number of HIV-infected persons, almost half of all orphans lost parents to the AIDS-related condition. The majority of orphaned children lost a father, smaller percent lives without a mother, while around 700.000 lost both parents. Unicef also estimates that around 150.000 children live in child-headed households that are mainly located in rural or urban informal areas and run by females who often drop out from school. The main needs of the children who take care of households are food, secure housing, access to health care, hygiene and education. They equally need support and counseling to deal with physiological traumas.
