A small child with AIDS. (file photo)
CARACAS, Dec. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 1,000 Venezuelan children are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, the UN Childrens' Fund (UNICEF) was quoted as saying on Friday by Venezuela's El Universal newspaper.
Of the total, some 390 have been abandoned by their families, said Ana de Emilio, a UNICEF spokeswoman.
In Venezuela, the Health Ministry and more than 60 non-governmental organizations are working in awareness campaigns that help fight the spread of AIDS.
Meanwhile, UNICEF estimates that some 150 million children suffer from health problems in the world and a large number of them lack medical care.
In many places, these children are abandoned or denied contact with the community, and they are even shunned or mistreated, UNICEF said.
Figures from the United Nations also show that by 2010 more than 21 million children and adolescents will have been orphaned by AIDS. Enditem
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