African Orphans: AIDS Victims.

After losing both parents to AIDS, 13-year-old Chimwemwe Lazaro slept on bus depot floors at night. "I slept on the bare floor with mosquitoes feasting on my blood," he said.

Seven-year-old Marietta Chasing begs for money in the streets. She and Chimwemwe are just two of the 13 million African children orphaned by AIDS.

In Africa, AIDS kills 6,000 people a day. Many victims leave behind small children--a large percentage of whom are infected with the virus at birth.

The United Nations estimates that AIDS will wipe out half the teenage population in some African countries.

Huge Losses

Sub-Saharan Africa has 10 percent of the world's population, but 70 percent of its AIDS cases (see map). Thirteen million Africans have already died of the disease, and 10 million more are expected to die within five years.

How can Africa, already plagued by poverty and civil wars, cope with this crisis? Several African countries have begun education programs to help stop the spread of AIDS.

Community leaders are doing the best they can to feed and clothe children and pay local school fees. Individuals with few resources have offered to take children into their homes.

But help from abroad has been slow After years of negotiations, five large drug companies have begun to offer AIDS drugs at lower prices.

The U.S. has pledged a billion dollars a year in loans over the next five years. But African leaders say such loans will only put their countries deeper in debt.

For now, Africa's children must cope with devastating losses. Millions, like Chimwemwe, sleep far from home, with empty stomachs.