An estimated 42 million people are currently living with HIV, with more than 4.3 million new infections in 2006. Over the last 25 years 60 million people have become infected with the virus and 25 million have died. The social, economic and personal effects that this has on communities across the developing world is unquestionably huge.
The unprecedented loss of life has critically affected the capacity of governments and other institutions, even reversing progress on development in many highly affected countries. The pandemic is deepening poverty in entire communities, with children usually the first to suffer from the deprivation. The church and faith based organisations have a key role to play both in terms of providing services to affected communities and influencing government policies and practices. A focus on children can be seen as a way of understanding the wider impact of HIV and AIDS on communities and society as a whole.