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This article delves into the challenges faced by orphans in Nigeria, specifically focusing on their psychological development and overall welfare. In 2003, there were an estimated 7 million orphans in the country, a number projected to rise to 8.2 million by 2010. This increase underscores the significant challenges posed by factors such as HIV/AIDS, conflict, and poverty.
Globally, the orphan crisis is alarming, with predictions suggesting that by 2020, as many as 200 million children worldwide could be without parental care. The study emphasizes the importance of offering childcare…
According to the literature, the success of deinstitutionalization (DI) practices in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is dependent on key factors including, a well-functioning family-based alternative care and social protection system, adequate funding and resources, and professional and other stakeholders' engagement and support. Following a practice research qualitative method, the study explored practitioner's experiences and perceptions on the status of Ghana's ongoing DI efforts and their recommendations for improving implementation.
The study's main themes were establishing…
Institutional childcare is associated with developmental delays and setbacks. Since alternative options are not always available, it is important to investigate youth in institutional settings to evaluate how to provide optimal care. Cluster analyses determined adjustment patterns for children in institutional care (CIC) (n = 100) and children in family care (CIF) (n = 100) (M age = 13.34 years, SD = 3.10; 40% female) in Ghana, across internalizing symptoms, quality of life (QoL), and academic achievement.
Three patterns were identified for CIF while four were identified for…
Abstract
Worldwide, up to 8 million children reside in institutional care. While some characteristics are common to most institutional settings (e.g., group rearing, non-related caregivers), the social environments of institutions are highly variable. Institutions in Russia, China, Ghana, and Chile are described with reference to the circumstances that lead to children’s institutionalization, resident children’s social-emotional relationships, and unique characteristics of each country’s institutional care (e.g., volunteer tourism in Ghana, and shifting demographics of institutionalized…
Abstract
Introduction: The population of orphaned children is increasing at devastating levels especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Orphaned children are at increased risk of health and social problems, including nutritional problems. In Nigeria only very little data exists on the nutritional status of children living in orphanages. This study therefore aimed to assess the eating patterns, dietary diversity and the nutritional status of children residing in orphanages in southwestern Nigeria.
Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-section al study among 260 children in selected…
Abstract
This article examines the aftercare experiences of young people who have recently left a residential care institution in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted a phenomenological qualitative research design with 20 care leavers, and data collected were analyzed using Attride-Stirling’s thematic networks analytical tool. The young care leavers’ aftercare experiences were marked by many challenges with employment, finances, living and surviving alone, accommodation, and social integration. These challenges were due to inadequate preparation for independent living, as well as their…
Executive summary
Children living in Liberia’s orphanages are denied basic rights – ranging from the right to development and health, to the right to identity, family, education, leisure and participation in cultural activities. The concurrent denial of this range of rights – economic, social, cultural, civil, and political - has an incremental and lasting effect on the children.
The UNMIL Human Rights and Protection Section (HRPS) considers the situation in orphanages to constitute a major human rights problem in post-conflict Liberia. It has therefore produced this report, following a…
This chapter appears in Child Maltreatment in Residential Care: History, Research, and Current Practice, a volume of research examining the institutionalization of children, child abuse and neglect in residential care, and interventions preventing and responding to violence against children living in out-of-home care settings around the world.
Abstract
In Sub-…
This video, presented by Better Care Network and UNICEF, highlights the increased risk of family separation faced by children with special needs and advocates for the provision of quality family-based care to children who cannot be with their parents or extended families. The video gives an inside look at an assisted family setting in Ghana where children with disabilities live with their foster mothers. The video features interviews with the foster mothers, who describe the care and affection they provide to the children, as well as an interview with Iddris Abdallah, …
This video is presented by Better Care Network and UNICEF. It tells the story of Maureen, a young girl in Kenya who was separated from her family and sent to live in a children's home. In the video, Maureen expresses her desire to reunite with her grandparents and asks "why do I live in a children's home?" It also features interviews with experts, including those who have lived in children's homes, explaining some of the negative impacts of institutionalization. Children who live in institutions often lack the individual care, affection, and attachment that a family environment offers.…