The majority of these survivors are the children whom we call orphans. An orphan is a child who has lost one or both parents. A maternal orphan has lost the mother, a paternal orphan the father. A child who has lost both parents is sometimes referred to as a double orphan. It is very likely that a child who has lost one parent because of AIDS will soon become a double orphan, since the likelihood of the surviving parent being HIV-infected is also high.
Some children are multiple orphans.
They became orphans through the death of one or both parents. This led to their being incorporated into the family of relatives. In several cases, AIDS claims these relatives also, and once again the child is orphaned. Some children have had repeated experience of this. Estimates vary as to the number of orphans in Zambia.