As a direct result of the AIDS epidemic in Africa, many hundreds of millions of children have been orphaned or abandoned by family members that are already too impoverished to feed another mouth.

Education is a key to sustaining democracies, improving health, increasing per capita income and conserving environmental resources.

Millions of Africans die each year from infectious diseases, such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, from poor nutrition or lack of clean drinking water, and from treatable diseases like measles and polio.