Assistance will be given to the reformation of the Child and Family Welfare Systems to ensure equal access to educational opportunities. Special assistance, including loans, will be given to families taking care of orphans so that they can increase their access to income-generating opportunities. In South Africa, programs concentrate on ensuring that AIDS orphans have health, nutritional, educational, and vocational support. Psychological support and peer counseling are also being provided to affected children. Nearly 18 million people in 37 countries are affected by this ancient disease.
River blindness causes loss of sight, intense suffering, and premature death.
It is estimated that an additional 123 million people around the world are at risk of contracting the disease. River blindness affects children in many ways, from causing infection and blindness, to leaving them the sole providers and caregivers of households when adult family members become afflicted. Ninety-five percent of the cases are in Africa, the rest occur in Latin America and the Caribbean. In Nigeria, for example, 2.7 million people were treated with Mectizan by the end of 1996. Merck has pledged to provide Mectizan at no cost, in whatever quantities are necessary, to eliminate the disease.