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The workshop concluded with participants agreeing to take forward the concreteproposals emanating from discussions with the appreciation that the increasinglydisproportionate vulnerability of women in the face of widespread poverty, escalatingHIV and AIDS infection rates and diminished access to land constitutes a national crisis.Opening Speech by the Deputy Minister, Ministry of Community Development andSocial Services Mr. Sebio MukukaThe ChairpersonHon Members of Parliament presentFAO Representative Mr. DongThe Charge d’affaires Embassy of FinlandMembers of the Diplomatic CorpsYour Royal Highnesses Senior Chiefs Monze and NkhomeshaRepresentatives from regional organisationsDirector Zambia Law Development CommissionThe Board Chairperson – Justice for Widows and Orphans ProjectDistinguished invited guestsLadies and gentlemenAll protocols observed.It gives me great pleasure and honour to be here with you today. First of all I would liketo thank Justice for Widows and Orphans Project (JWOP), Zambia Law DevelopmentCommission and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for extending their invitationto the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services whose interest is to lookinto the welfare of vulnerable groups.This invitation is a sign of strong working relationship between government and civilsociety. In fact the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services is as youmay be aware working towards the improvement of livelihoods for the vulnerable peoplein our society especially widows and orphans.Ladies and gentlemen, the number of widows and orphans in Zambia is alarming and anyeffort aimed at ameliorating their plight should be encouraged. The number of childrenaged between 0 to 18 years is estimated at 6,000,000 out of a population of 10,200,000.From this 6,000,000 we have about 1,100,000 who are orphans. This is about 19% of thetotal number of children in the country. The number of orphans due to HIV and AIDShas been estimated at 630,000. This means that about 60% of children have beenorphaned due to HIV and AIDS. Chairperson, Zambia has a very high prevalence rate ofHIV and AIDS. It is estimated that one in every five people is infected with the HIVvirus. According to the latest statistics from Central Statistics Office, 16 percent of thetotal population is infected with the virus; this means that the nation will lose hundreds ofpeople in the next ten years. The result will be an increase in the number of widows,widowers, orphans, and vulnerable children.36