African Population Studies - Vol 25 - Improving knowledge on child abandonment and care in Africa, a demographic contribution to the achievement of child protection

Oct 20, 2026

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Focused literature review on child abandonment and care in Africa assesses how incomplete understanding remains, with unsettled situation classifications and measurement gaps for both prevalence and trends. A conceptual framework centers on disruption in childcare, identifying determinant factors behind disruption and possible responses from families or institutions. Socio-cultural and economic factors are examined alongside anthropology of infancy and demographic analyses, emphasizing the need to improve data collection for child status, street and working children, and child endangerment inside or outside the family.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Résumé

Introduction

African Population Studies Vol 25, 1 (April 2011) Improving knowledge on child abandonment and care in Africa: A demographic contribution to the achievement of child protection Valérie Delaunay Institut de Recherche pour le Développement Laboratoire Population-Environnement-Développement (LPED-UMR151) BP 434-101 Antananarivo-Madagascar [Valerie.Delaunay@ird.fr](Valerie.Delaunay@ird.fr) Abstract Carrying out a focused literature review on child abandonment and care in Africa, this paper aims to show that the understanding of this question remains very incomplete, the classification of situations is unsettled and their measurement is lacking in terms of both prevalence and trends. Argumentation is founded on a conceptual framework that gives a central place to the concept of disruption in the process of childcare, and that suggests determinant factors causing disruption and possible responses from families or from institutions. Some socio-cultural and economic factors highlight disruptions in the process of child care. Responses to these disruptions are largely familial, but also institutional. Some circumstances can lead to abandonment or child endangerment. The anthropology of infancy gives a great deal of information on cultural and social foundations of abandonment and on family systems of child circulation. Child demography remains focused on mortality, nutrition, education and birth registration. Demographic analyses give few answers on disruption in child care. It appears important today to improve data collection in order to better understand 1) child status in the family and mechanisms of solidarity that involve children; 2) issues concerning street children and working children; 3) situation of child endangerment outside as well as inside the family. Thus, progress of social science research, particularly in demography, on these issues in Africa would give important results necessary for improving policies regarding child protection. Keywords : Child abandonment; orphan; infanticide; child care disruption; Africa. Résumé S’appuyant sur une revue de la littérature sur l’abandon et la prise en charge des enfants en Afrique, cet article vise à montrer que cette problématique n’est pas explorée en profondeur, que la diversité des situations est mal connue et que les mesures font défaut, tant en terme de prévalence que de tendance. L’argumentation se base sur un cadre conceptuel qui accorde une place centrale à la rupture de prise en charge de l’enfant. Les déterminants de ces ruptures sont discutésainsi que les réponses possibles apportées par la famille ou les institutions. Des facteurs socio-culturels et économiques permettent de comprendre les situations de rupture de prise en charge de l’enfant. Les réponses à ces ruptures African Population Studies Vol 25, 1 (April 2011) sont avant tout familiales, mais aussi parfois institutionnelles. Certaines circonstances conduisent à des situations d’abandon ou de mise en danger de l’enfant. L’anthropologie de l’enfance apporte de nombreux éléments sur les fondements culturels de l’abandon et sur les systèmes familiaux de circulation des enfants en Afrique. Les analyses démographiques, quant à elles, sont centrées sur la mortalité, la nutrition, la scolarisation et l’enregistrement des naissances, et apportentpeu d’éléments sur les situations de ruptures de prises en charge des enfants. Il est nécessaire aujourd’hui d’améliorer la collecte de données pour mieux comprendre 1) le statut de l’enfant dans la famille et les mécanismes d’entraide qui impliquent les enfants ; 2) les situations des enfants des rues et des enfants travailleurs ; 3) les situations de mises en danger de l’enfant en dehors comme au sein de la famille. Ainsi, la recherche en science sociale, particulièrement endémographie sur la question de la prise en charge de l’enfant en Afrique apporteraient des éléments importants pour l’amélioration des politiques de protection de l’enfant en

FAQs

What is the paper trying to clarify about child abandonment and care in Africa?

It argues that understanding of child abandonment and care in Africa remains very incomplete, with unsettled classifications of situations and insufficient measurement of both prevalence and trends.

Which conceptual focus does the argumentation use?

It centers the concept of disruption in the process of childcare, discussing determinant factors that cause disruption and possible responses from families or from institutions.

Why does the paper call for improved data collection?

It says better data collection is needed to understand children’s status in the family and solidarity mechanisms involving children, issues concerning street children and working children, and situations where children face endangerment both outside and inside the family.

Oct 20, 2026

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