Estimating the Number of Orphans at the National and State Levels in Nigeria, 2000-2015 Robert Ssengonzi and Scott Moreland (January 2002)  Full Document (English)      Order for free      email to me  The HIV/AIDS epidemic is having a wide impact on Nigeria. One of the more alarming is the emerging cohort of AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs)—children who have lost either or both of their parents to AIDS. Experiences from other countries, such as Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Africa, where the epidemic is more advanced, tell us that AIDS orphans face serious threats to their well-being, and these threats can have far-reaching and long-term effects on society, public health, and the economy. Nigeria, like many sub-Saharan African countries, has a young population. Current estimates indicate that about 44 percent of the country’s population is under age 15. Unfortunately, a sizable proportion of these children have lost either one or both their parents. This report provides an estimate of orphans (under age 15) that have lost their parents to AIDS-related and non-AIDS-related causes for the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between 2000 and 2015. The paper also briefly describes the methodology and data used to develop the estimates.