Extract from: Regional analysis report, 1999 UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office: 11 February 2000

This report is derived from the initiatives and key results identified by UNICEF with regards to support for orphans in the southern African region. UNICEF has been designated lead agency among the UNAIDS co-sponsors for programmes in support of orphans. An effort to conduct national-level rapid assessments of the orphan problem in 13 countries in the region was completed in 1999. UNICEF and other partners sponsored a much more complete study of the problem in Zambia in 1999, resulting in a report that should be widely read for its analysis of the many facets of this crisis.