Child and young adult-headed households in the context of the AIDS epidemic in Zimbabwe, 1988–2006

Abstract

The emergence of child-headed households (CHH) is considered an indicator of the erosion of the traditional safety nets in sub-Saharan African countries and a direct consequence of the increasing number of orphans in the region. Using four available waves of the Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Surveys (1988, 1994, 1999, 2005/2006), we find that the proportion of households with no adults remained stable in the last years, although the number of orphans increased significantly. In fact, a large number of children living in CHH are nonorphans, which suggests that this kind of living arrangement is not always a direct consequence of parental death. Moreover, our analysis shows that children living in CHH and young adult households are less likely to have unmet basic needs than children in households headed by working-age adults and in other vulnerable households.

Keywords:

• child-headed households
• AIDS
• orphans
• Zimbabwe

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Simona Bignami for her comments and suggestions on a previous version of this article. This article benefited from the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Notes

1. Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Comoros, Congo DR, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia.

2. Households headed by children (<18 years) that have adult members are extremely rare: less than 0.1% of the total in 2005.

3. Not having a blanket or a pair of shoes or two sets of clothes.