9. Brazil
Orphan population: 3.7 million
Two main reasons for children becoming orphans in Brazil are poverty and AIDS. UNAIDS estimates that from 60,000 to 250,000 children in Brazil have become orphans because their parents died of AIDS-related diseases while around 25 percent of them were abandoned by their parents because of poverty. Many orphans end up living on the streets with no protection at all. Apart from not having access to education and health care, these children are often easy prey for criminals and drug dealers who use them as “cheap” working force. Substance abuse, which is widespread among children living on streets, together with police repression and clashes between street gangs, often lead to their premature death.
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