This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the problem of orphans and vulnerable children. It evaluates the impact of the crisis on the educational and nutritional status of orphans.

This issue of Digest focuses on early marriages that take place under the age of 18 - the upper limit for protection under the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child.

From the Foreword. Knowledge-based development is one of the strategies of the UNDP South East Asia HIV and Development (UNDP-SEAHIV) project in its technical assistance to countries. The goal is to strengthen countries' capacity to effectively combat the HIV/ AIDS epidemic.