Last month, world leaders came together at the United Nations General Assembly to endorse 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a roadmap to end some of the world's greatest challenges -- poverty, inequality and climate change -- within the next 15 years. One of these SDGs, Goal 3, promotes healthy living for people of all ages, and sets a target to end the AIDS epidemic and other communicable diseases by 2030. This goal is a critical one as the AIDS epidemic does not only impact the health of individuals, it impacts families, communities and nations.
SOS Children's Villages (SOS) has seen firsthand how this epidemic affects the world's most vulnerable families. We have also seen how investment in sustainable, responsible programs can strengthen these families and help them rebuild their lives and thrive.
In 2002, SOS won the prestigious Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, which enabled us to launch, pilot and scale up our existing programs to address the needs of children and families affected by the AIDS epidemic. In 19 African countries, SOS was able -- and continues to -- support over 30,000 children and their families through our Family-strengthening Programs (FSP) by providing basic necessities, medical and psychological support, job skills training, and educational workshops.
In Maputo, Mozambique, for example, our FSP helped Cassandra, a mother of three who had been diagnosed as HIV-positive, to get back on her feet. When we were introduced, Cassandra was not doing well on an emotional or physical level. The side effects from her antiretroviral therapy coupled with poor nutrition made it difficult for her to care for her children; and she often found herself bedridden with swollen feet and unable to work. Her children were living at home with little to no food and were not enrolled in school.
Through the FSP, Cassandra was given the financial support needed to provide for her family. When Cassandra felt healthy and ready to work, she was given five chickens to breed and earn an income to support her family. Her three children were also given assistance to attend school, as well as access to counseling and other critical support services. Today, Cassandra's children are healthy, still in school, and doing what they can to reach their full potential. As for Cassandra, she now has over 1,600 chickens in her chicken coop and is saving money to help move her family to a better part of town.
Cassandra's is one story, but it speaks volumes of the critical needs children and families affected by this epidemic face. Around the world, there are an estimated 17 million children who have been orphaned by the disease, with 90 percent of them living in sub-Saharan Africa. Children affected by the epidemic experience a wide range of challenges, including loss of parental care, stigmatization and discrimination, lack of nutrition, food and shelter, limited access to quality healthcare, and sexual and economic exploitation. There are even instances when children are forced to drop out of school to help care for ill caregivers or siblings.
As we work towards World AIDS Day on December 1, the next milestone in the journey to realize an AIDS-free generation in 2030, it is critical to provide holistic support services for impacted children and families. By strengthening these most vulnerable families and supporting them to get back on their feet, we can help build stronger communities and a better world for future generations to come.
SOS Children's Villages is a proud Hilton Prize Laureate. On October 14, SOS will join 19 fellow laureates in celebrating 20 years of the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize's continued efforts to alleviate human suffering.