KHARKIV, UKRAINE - NOVEMBER 10 2005: Pictured is 12
month old Vova who has been abandoned by his family. He has TB and is
currently being cared for in Kharkiv TB dispensary but will be transferred to
a state orphanage.
Summary:
Nobody knows exactly how many children are homeless
or living on the streets of Ukraine. Estimates range from 50,000 to 3
million. Many children living on the streets are regular drug useres,
progressing from using glue to injecting lethal homemade concoctions of
effidrine and vinegar from as young as 6 years old. Levels of HIV and Aids
have reached epidemic proportions in Ukraine. The World Health Organisation
and the UN estimate that 1.4 per cent of the population of 48 million is
infected. Last year 2,025 new cases of HIV positive children were registered.
