CHILDHEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN ETHIOPIA

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• CHILD-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN ETHIOPIA
• Major findings of the study
• Shimelis Tsegaye
• Senior Project Officer, ACPF
• September 2008

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• Some facts about children in Ethiopia
• Children account for more than half of the
  population in Ethiopia.
• One in every thirteen Ethiopian children dies
  before reaching the age of one.
• Malnutrition is a major cause of death among
  children in Ethiopia, with nearly half (47) of
  children under five suffering stunted growth, 11
  percent wasted and 38 underweight.
• In 2005, Ethiopia counted a total of 2.4 million
  maternal, 3 million paternal and more than
  600,000 double orphans.
• A considerable number of double orphans are
  likely to end up as unaccompanied child-headed
  households.
• Ethiopia is home to more than 77, 000
  unaccompanied child-headed households the second
  highest figure in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Highest in Oromiya
Lowest in Dire Dawa
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Why the study?

• Virtually no in-depth data was available on the
  causes, consequences and extent of the
  phenomenon.
• Lack of information on the subject masked the
  specific nature of the challenges facing
  child-headed households.
• Because of limited knowledge of the extent and
  impact of the phenomenon their plight has not
  been sufficiently appreciated by policy-makers
  and advocacy groups.
• The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
  criticised Ethiopias third periodic report on
  its implementation of the CRC because the report
  did not mention challenges, such as child-headed
  households.

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Objectives of the study

• The study sought to gather empirical evidence on
  the nature and scope of the phenomenon of
  child-headed households in Ethiopia, with the
  ultimate aim of informing policy advocacy and
  programmatic interventions.
• Specifically, the study set out to explore
• The factors that lead to the establishment of
  child-headed households.
• The nature, extent and pattern of
  the phenomenon.
• The needs of child-headed households, the
  survival mechanisms they employ and the
  associated consequences.
• Existing community, NGO and government actions
  to assist child-headed households and associated
  constraints.
• The degree of access of these households to
  education, healthcare, economic and other
  services and the challenges they face in
  accessing these services.

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Methodology

• Data gathering tools
• Interviews
• Semi-structured interviews with
• child heads of households (both boys and girls)
• terminally ill parents in their homes
• medical personnel, teachers, HIV/ AIDS activists
  and counsellors
• NGO staff
• local authorities and officials
• Case studies and special in-depth interviews
• Document reviews
• Personal observation

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Methodology

• Sampling methods
• Stratified purposive sampling methods were used
  to select the respondents.
• Child-headed households receiving support from
  NGOs were deliberately contacted for the study.
• Orphans living by themselves as a household
  without any external support, were also
  contacted.
• Snowball sampling techniques were also used to
  follow chain referrals and explore people
  affected who do not have the chance or the
  knowledge to access NGO or government services.
• Non-orphans who are established as child-headed
  households for other reasons than the death or
  incapacity of parents were also included.

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Methodology

• Participation, consent and ethics
• Consent was obtained from respondents after they
  were informed about the nature of the study.
• They were assured of confidentiality and given
  the option to decline to answer any or all of the
  research questions.
• Enumerators were instructed on how to fully
  respect ethical standards related to research on
  children and terminally ill people.
• Social outreach workers and home-based care
  workers, most of them living with HIV were
  employed in data collection.

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Where were the study sites?
Dessie
Addis Ababa
Modjo
Awasa
Shashemene
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Findings

• Unaccompanied child-headed households
  establishment headship pattern
• More than 89 of child-headed households were
  established following the death of their parents,
  with 12 established after the death of
  caregivers.
• The majority of unaccompanied child-headed
  households (59 ) were headed by girls and 41
  headed by boys
• A third of unaccompanied child-headed households
  comprise three siblings.
• Nearly a quarter consists of one child living
  alone.
• 12 of the households comprise four members and
  15 have two members.
• 11 have five siblings and 5 contain six
  siblings.

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Findings
Psychological needs and challenges

• Many child heads of households said that the
  cause of their fear and anxiety relates to the
  problems they have in making ends meet and the
  continuing survival of their households.
• Children heading households face tremendous
  emotional and psychological challenges, and live
  with the constant memory of their departed
  parents.

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Findings

• The beds on which parents underwent their illness
  and other household materials they utilised also
  remind children of their dead parents.
• A good number said that they live with fear of
  crime at night and rain or floods because of
  their poor housing.
• About 12 percent of children interviewed said
  that the public has an attitude of indifference
  towards them or blatantly discriminate against
  them

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Findings

• Health needs
• Have difficulties in accessing healthcare
  services
• Even if they do, they find it hard to articulate
  their health problems
• Or they may risk taking their medications at the
  wrong dosage or at the wrong time
• Nutrition needs
• Many engage in hazardous labour
• Some beg food from neighbors
• Others collect food from places
• Few girls trade sex for food

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Findings

• Education needs
• Most drop out of school to work for a living
• Even if they continue in school, they find it
  hard to concentrate in school
• They dont frequently go to school this may be a
  cause of mistreatment by teachers
• They lack parental pedagogic follow-up hence
• score very badly in subjects that require
  external support

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Findings

• Safety, security and vulnerability
• About 18 of children said that they are living
  with constant fear and sense of insecurity.
• A substantial number of girls in child-headed
  households have faced rape or attempted rape on
  numerous occasions.
• There were numerous cases where these children
  suffered property grabbing in the hands of
  relatives and neighbours.
• Housing and shelter
• Over 60 of child-headed households in the study
  areas live in the houses that were rented by
  their parents before their death, while 9 live
  in houses which are the property of their
  parents.
• Most households are unable to afford their house
  rent.
• Most of the children visited for this study live
  in dilapidated and crumbling mud houses or under
  plastic shelters.

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Findings

• Child-headed households accompanied by
  incapacitated adults
• Accompanied and unaccompanied child-headed
  households are similar in terms of their basic
  needs and the measures they take to satisfy them.
• The presence of incapacitated adults in
  accompanied child-headed households adds a new
  dimension of challenges related to the special
  needs of adults.
• Accompanied child household heads have to cater
  for the material, medical and emotional needs of
  incapacitated adults, in addition to the needs of
  siblings.
• Accompanied child-headed households face serious
  problems in providing for the medical and moral
  needs of the bedridden adults in the household.
  Most are physically too weak to move the
  bedridden adults in their care, which is a cause
  for frustration for both the adults and the
  children.
• My little sister and I face difficulties when
  our bedridden mother asks us to move her onto the
  bed. We are just little children and physically
  too weak to do that, said a fourteen year-old
  head of a household.

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Findings

• Children in accompanied child-headed households
  have to care for sick parents without taking
  necessary safety precautions for themselves.
• Nearly 60 of incapacitated adults play a role in
  advising or counselling children, in solving
  problems and imparting life skills on a variety
  of issues, while 55 deter physical or sexual
  abuse by unscrupulous people.
• Around 46 of the adults are able to represent
  child-headed households in legal and social
  issues and in accessing aid, and 45 percent play
  a role in providing spiritual guidance and
  religious orientation to siblings.
• All of the adult household members play a role in
  FAMILY COHESION!!!!

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Conclusion

• The plight of child-headed households is alarming
  and unprecedented.
• Child-headed households need special support
• They need that support very URGENTLY!!!

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Recommendations

• Child-headed households need urgent material
  support, in the form of cash grants, food,
  clothing, shelter, education, medical needs, etc.
• Counselling and psychosocial support
• Special legal and security protection
• They should be accepted as a family typology by
  law in order to access formal aid and to make
  claims of property inheritance rights
• Support to these households has to be formalised
  via a National Plan of Action on child-headed
  households
• Clinic and home-based care and treatment for
  opportunistic infections and ART for bed-ridden
  adults, has to be strongly complemented by
  appropriate nutritional support.

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Recommendations

• Life skills training it is necessary to offer
  training to child household heads to build their
  life skills in aspects such as health, sanitation
  and HIV/ AIDS
• Income generation older siblings in child-headed
  households need to be given opportunities to set
  up income generation programmes by offering
  vocational training and start-up capital.
• Community involvement it is important to
  mobilise the community in support of child-headed
  households. This includes providing mentoring and
  counselling training, and material support to
  community volunteers.
• Further research there is a need for further
  studies on the situation of child-headed
  households, especially in areas not covered by
  this study.

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• Thank you for your attention!!