Displaying 1 - 10 of 17
Abstract
Family constitutes more than simple living arrangements, and these systems are of pivotal development importance in sub-Saharan Africa. The diversity of family structures and types in sub-Saharan Africa has warranted an examination of the various policies and laws in the region. This paper examines all policy and laws related to families in the South, West, East and Central regions of sub-Saharan Africa. The paper highlights the sundry of policies and laws that are influenced by cultural and religious differences within and across regions. Issues relating to patriarchy and…
Abstract
Globalization of knowledge and scholarship raises the challenges of dialogue between Global North and South. Northern knowledge and voice remain privileged, while writing from the South often goes unread. This is true also in emerging adulthood and care-leaving scholarship. The special issue of Emerging Adulthood titled “Care-Leaving in Africa” is the first collection of essays on care-leaving by African scholars. It presents both care-leaving and emerging adulthood scholars from the Global North a unique opportunity to consider the implications of a rising…
In 2019, the Government of Lesotho launched the Violence Against Children Survey (VACS) with support from ICAP, PEPFAR, CDC, UNICEF and other partners. The Lesotho VACS Fact Sheet provides country-specific data on sexual and physical violence against children in Lesotho.
Abstract
Cash transfer programmes have been shown to have positive effects on a variety of outcomes. While much of the literature focuses on the role of conditionality in achieving desired impact, this paper focuses on the role of ‘soft conditionality’ implemented through both ‘labelling’ and ‘messaging’ in evaluating the impact of the Child Grants Program in Lesotho, an unconditional cash transfer programme targeting poor households with orphans and vulnerable children. Beneficiary households received a clear message that the transfer should be spent on the interest and…
Abstract
This study explores the relationship between orphanhood prevalence, living arrangements and orphanhood reporting. Research on children’s orphanhood status and living arrangements is well established, but not so much in the context of orphanhood data quality assessment. The study provides a historical context of the measurement of orphanhood, the assessment of data quality, and concludes that in the context of sub-Saharan Africa, where child fostering is common, parental coresidency may be more inclusive and may provide a better understanding of children’s vulnerability than the…
This book published jointly by FAO, UNICEF, and Oxford University Press presents the findings from evaluations of the Transfer Project, a cash transfer project undertaken in the following sub-Saharan African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It concludes that cash transfers are becoming a key means for social protection in developing countries. The editors examine and evaluate the evidence in support of the viability of cash transfers. This book also focuses on the collaborative efforts of governments, development and research…
ABSTRACT
Care for AIDS orphans in southern Africa is frequently characterized as a “crisis”, where kin-based networks of care are thought to be on the edge of collapse. Yet these care networks, though strained by AIDS, are still the primary mechanisms for orphan care, in large part because of the essential role grandmothers play in responding to the needs of orphans. Ongoing demographic shifts as a result of HIV/AIDS and an increasingly feminized labor market continue to disrupt and alter networks of care for orphans and vulnerable children. This paper examines the emergence of a small but…
Kinnected is a program run in 10 countries by the organization ACCI Relief aimed at preserving and strengthening families and assisting children currently in residential care to achieve their right to be raised in a family.
This document provides an overview of the issues related to residential care, and the detrimental impacts of institutionalization on children. The document presents steps to deinstitutionalization and best practices for child protection, family preservation, and family reunification.
The document highlights the need for ethical volunteering which does not…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of the ‘Imbeleko and social connectedness’ project was to conduct a cross-sectional study in order to explore and describe indigenous ways of care and support to inform policy and intervention. Theoretically the study is grounded in frameworks of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), social connectedness, child and human development, as well as psychosocial well-being and support. Methodologically, a concurrent mixed method design was used. Participants were conveniently sampled (n=430; elders=240; youth=190; men=150 and women=280) in collaboration with Nelson…
ABSTRACT
Abandonment creates risks for the wellbeing of children, while compromising their prospects for social adjustment and advancement. This implies pressure on a country's fiscal base through probable lifelong dependence on public resources. The need for prevention of child abandonment in Lesotho and elsewhere can therefore not be overstated. This article, based on research in progress, discusses possible dangers of child abandonment and neglect, using attachment theory as its theoretical grounding. It considers findings based on two samples (professionals and adoptive mothers) and…