Education status among orphans and non-orphans in communities affected by AIDS in Tanzania and Burkina Faso

Abstract

The AIDS pandemic has created an estimated 15 million orphans who may face elevated risk of poor health and social outcomes. This paper compares orphans and non-orphans regarding educational status and delay using data collected in three low-income communities affected by AIDS in Tanzania and Burkina Faso. Orphans were significantly more likely not to attend school than were non-orphans and also to be delayed when in school, though, after controlling for confounders, the risk was borderline and non-significant. Multivariate analysis indicates that variables such as age, religion, family of origin, the relation between the child and the head of household and the dependency ratio of the household better explain differences in education than does orphan status. This study suggests, therefore, that orphans’ educational status is relatively equivalent to non-orphans perhaps as a result of family based or community program safety nets.

Keywords:

• orphans
• children
• education
• Burkina Faso
• Tanzania
• HIV/AIDS

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Abbott Fund through the Axios Health Care Development for support of this study. We thank the communities and their leaders, and interviewers, for collaboration in the implementation of the mapping. We thank Alphonse Baltazar, Zaharani Kalungwa, Alfred Magalla and Clotaire Ouedraogo for organizing and implementing the field survey. This study was funded in part by an award from The Abbott Fund.

Notes

1. Founded in 1997, Axios is a global consultancy improving health systems and quality of care in developing countries through healthcare philanthropy and drug-donation program management.