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The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC/the Committee), in collaboration with African Union Member States, partner organizations, children and young people, launched the first of its kind Continental Study on Children Without Parental Care (CWPC) in Africa. The study, conducted from 2020 to 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, covered over 43 countries in the five regions of Africa.
Abstract: Human Rights Education (HRE) often forms the cornerstone of addressing human rights issues at the local level where nongovernmental bodies in partnership with human rights agencies deliver various initiatives. Such agencies mostly operate from a neo-colonial framework as addressing structural and political power struggles limits addressing structural transformation for most vulnerable populations. There is a gap in the existing literature about the sense-making of such roles and responsibilities related to a local agency that speaks to active citizenship and youth as agents of…
This paper examines existing knowledge on raising adolescents in east and southern African countries, including Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. According to the report, and within the context of these regions, parenting is understood to be handled through extended community and family networks. These relationships facilitate a child’s progression into adulthood. Several factors impact an adolescent’s healthy transition into adulthood. They include poverty, HIV, workloads and education. Into adolescence, relatives remain a key support,…
Under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child is entitled to free primary school education and access to secondary school or occupational training, and education has become one of the basic indicators of child wellbeing. Large scale studies published in the 1990s and early 2000s generally showed that significant educational disparities existed based on orphan status and a child's relationship to the head of the household. Poverty, gender and rural residence were also shown to contribute to the disparities. Since the data relied on by these studies were…
OVERVIEW
This report is an overview of the key issues addressed during the “Keeping Children and Families together with Economic Strengthening” symposium funded by USAID’s Displaced Children and Orphan’s fund (DCOF) and implemented by FHI 360 through the Supporting Transformation by Reducing Insecurity and Vulnerability with Economic Strengthening (STRIVE) project. The symposium took place on March 6, 2015, at the office of FHI360 in Washington, D.C. and was attended by over 44 practitioners, donors, and researchers and included presentations, case studies, and…
This powerful chart illustrates preliminary research findings seeking to understand how orphan status affects the school attendance of children in Africa and the extent to which living in kinship care can act as a protective factor in this context. Although numerous studies have examined the effects of orphanhood on schooling outcomes, the results have been mixed, both in terms of whether orphans are significantly less likely to be enrolled in school but also, when they are found to be, whether it is orphan status or poverty that is responsible for this.…
This document begins by discussing the background for developing the psychosocial indicators that are used for measurement and the limitations of current indicators. The purpose was to create national level psychosocial indicators.
It goes on to provide an in depth review of the psychosocial impacts that HIV/AIDS have on children. Specifically it covers poverty, death, loss, grieving, stigma, discrimination, and increased risk of infection.
Finally, the author provides samples of surveys that can be used for measuring psychosocial indicators through caregiver and youth…
International agencies are increasingly recognizing the role of religious organizations in establishing effective HIV/AIDS interventions. Despite some negative perceptions of their role and impact, faith-based organizations (FBOs) are among the most viable institutions at both local and national levels and have developed experience in addressing the multidimensional impact of AIDS and its particular impact on children.
Religious organizations are prevalent throughout Africa. In the six countries chosen for this Study, the number of local congregations is estimated to be in excess of 150,…
As the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to be experienced most severely in Southern Africa, 14% of children are now orphans and 48% of these children have been orphaned due to AIDS. These children are often uninformed about their rights and have difficulty accessing the support to which they are entitled, particularly if they do not have the support of a parent or caregiver. This report reviews legal and policy frameworks to protect the rights of vulnerable children, particularly those affected or infected by HIV/AIDS in 10 Southern African countries. The countries included are:…
The present study employs Deaton’s outlay equivalence approach to analyze potential discrimination in resource allocation within households against children who are not the biological descendant of the household head in Mozambique. High HIV prevalence in Mozambique motivates the study. The projected 800,000 AIDS related adult deaths over the period 2004-2010 will leave significant numbers of orphans in their wake. Of these, many will reside in families where the household head is not their biological parent. Results point to discrimination in the intra-household allocation of resources…