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Children, AIDS and the politics of orphan care in Ethiopia: The extended family revisited

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  • Abebe, Tatek
  • Aase, Asbjorn

Abstract

The astounding rise in the number of orphans due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic has left many Ethiopian families and communities with enormous childcare problems. Available studies on the capacity and sustainability of the extended family system, which culturally performs the role of care for children in need, suggest two competing theories. The first is grounded in the social rupture thesis and assumes that the traditional system of orphan care is stretched by the impact of the epidemic, and is actually collapsing. By contrast, the second theory counter-suggests that the flexibility and strength of the informal childcare practise, if supported by appropriate interventions, can still support a large number of orphans. Based on a seven-month period of child-focused, qualitative research fieldwork in Ethiopia involving observations; in-depth interviews with orphans (42), social workers (12) and heads of households (18); focus group discussions with orphans (8), elderly people and community leaders (6); and story-writing by children in school contexts, this article explores the trade-offs and social dynamics of orphan care within extended family structures in Ethiopia. It argues that there is a rural-urban divide in the capacity to cater for orphans that emanates from structural differences as well as the socio-cultural and economic values associated with children. The care of orphans within extended family households is also characterised by multiple and reciprocal relationships in care-giving and care-receiving practices. By calling for a contextual understanding of the 'orphan burden', the paper concludes that interventions for orphans may consider care as a continuum in the light of four profiles of extended families, namely rupturing, transient, adaptive, and capable families.

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  • Abebe, Tatek & Aase, Asbjorn, 2007. "Children, AIDS and the politics of orphan care in Ethiopia: The extended family revisited," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 2058-2069, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:64:y:2007:i:10:p:2058-2069
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nyamukapa, Constance & Gregson, Simon, 2005. "Extended family's and women's roles in safeguarding orphans' education in AIDS-afflicted rural Zimbabwe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(10), pages 2155-2167, May.
    2. Oleke, Christopher & Blystad, Astrid & Rekdal, Ole Bjørn, 2005. ""When the obvious brother is not there": Political and cultural contexts of the orphan challenge in northern Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(12), pages 2628-2638, December.
    3. Hunter, Susan S., 1990. "Orphans as a window on the AIDS epidemic in sub-saharan Africa: Initial results and implications of a study in Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 681-690, January.
    4. Madhavan, Sangeetha, 2004. "Fosterage patterns in the age of AIDS: continuity and change," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(7), pages 1443-1454, April.
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    4. Yanagisawa, Satoko & Poudel, Krishna C. & Jimba, Masamine, 2010. "Sibling caregiving among children orphaned by AIDS: Synthesis of recent studies for policy implications," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(2-3), pages 121-130, December.
    5. Sikstrom, Laura, 2014. "“Without the grandparents, life is difficult”: Social hierarchy and therapeutic trajectories for children living with HIV in rural Northern Malawi," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 47-54.
    6. Skovdal, Morten & Ogutu, Vincent O. & Aoro, Cellestine & Campbell, Catherine, 2009. "Young carers as social actors: Coping strategies of children caring for ailing or ageing guardians in Western Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 587-595, August.
    7. Karimli, Leyla & Ssewamala, Fred M. & Ismayilova, Leyla, 2012. "Extended families and perceived caregiver support to AIDS orphans in Rakai district of Uganda," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1351-1358.
    8. Hejoaka, Fabienne, 2009. "Care and secrecy: Being a mother of children living with HIV in Burkina Faso," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 869-876, September.
    9. Louise Mubanda Rasmussen, 2017. "In the Name of Sustainability: Contradictory Effects of NGO-Driven Development in Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(2), pages 312-327, April.
    10. Himaz, Rozana, 2020. "Sweet are the fruit of adversity? The impact of fathers’ death on child non-cognitive outcomes in Ethiopia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    11. Christopher Hearle & Kanchana Ruwanpura, 2009. "Contentious Care: Foster Care Grants and the Caregiver-Orphan Relationship in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(4), pages 423-437.
    12. Laura Camfield, 2011. "Outcomes of Orphanhood in Ethiopia: A Mixed Methods Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 104(1), pages 87-102, October.
    13. Mónica Ruiz-Casares & José Ignacio Nazif-Muñoz & René Iwo & Youssef Oulhote, 2018. "Nonadult Supervision of Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Results from 61 National Population-Based Surveys," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-27, July.
    14. Rachel Goldberg & Susan Short, 2012. "“The Luggage that isn’t Theirs is Too Heavy…”: Understandings of Orphan Disadvantage in Lesotho," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 31(1), pages 67-83, February.
    15. Betancourt, Theresa Stichick & Meyers-Ohki, Sarah & Stulac, Sara N. & Elizabeth Barrera, Amy & Mushashi, Christina & Beardslee, William R., 2011. "Nothing can defeat combined hands (Abashize hamwe ntakibananira): Protective processes and resilience in Rwandan children and families affected by HIV/AIDS," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(5), pages 693-701, September.

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