Richmond MP: Aids Orphans Face Bleak Future

4.46.09pm GMT Wed 5th Nov 2003

Dr Jenny Tonge, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, has drawn attention to the huge problem of AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr Tonge was speaking in a debate on African Development Strategies in the House of Commons on Tuesday, November 4 2003. The MP said: "Even if we manage to control the growth in the number of AIDS cases anywhere in Africa, the fact that there are already six million AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa is a huge problem for the future."

"What will become of these children? Will they become child soldiers? Will they become involved in civil war? Will they go into prostitution?"

"Should not we, as an international community, put much more emphasis on the needs of those children?"