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This report illustrates current patterns and projected trends of population aging in Africa and empirical evidence of the socioeconomic circumstances and health status of older Africans. Two central themes are applied throughout the report: (1) the profoundly different nature of aging in Africa compared to other world regions; and (2) the important heterogeneity in aging experiences within Africa both between and within subregions and countries.
Data for this report come from many sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau’s International Data Base (IDB) and HIV/AIDS…
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.…
The World Family Map Project is a new initiative by Child Trends to monitor the health of family life around the globe and to learn more about how family trends affect the well-being of children. Recognizing the centrality of the family to child and adult well-being and the changing dynamic and structure of families today, the project will issue an annual report, The World Family Map, using internationally comparative data for low-, middle-, and high-income countries to map trends in family structure, family socioeconomics, family processes, and family culture in…
HIV can no longer be considered as a new or emerging disease in sub-Saharan Africa. More than two decades on from the start of the epidemic, several countries in Africa have maturing HIV epidemics with stable or declining incidence. During the HIV epidemic, families and households have continued to be formed and built, and have survived and dissolved, bearing and rearing children. They pass through various life-cycle stages while continuing to function as the primary units of reproduction and production.
Children who survived the risk of contracting HIV through mother-to-child…
We examine the impact of orphanhood on children’s school enrollment in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries. Although poorer children in Africa are less likely to attend school, the lower enrollment of orphans is not accounted for solely by their poverty. We find orphans are less likely to be enrolled than are non-orphans with whom they live. Consistent with Hamilton’s Rule, the theory that the closeness of biological ties governs altruistic behavior, outcomes for orphans depend on the relatedness of orphans to their household heads. The lower enrollment of orphans is largely explained caregivers…