The quality of material care provided by grandparents of their orphaned grandchildren in the context of HIV/AIDS and poverty: a study of Kopanong municipality, Free State
OUTPUT TYPE: Journal Article
PUBLICATION YEAR: 2010
TITLE AUTHOR(S): T.Tamasane, J.Head
KEYWORDS: CARE OF HIV/AIDS ORPHANS, FAMILY PARTICIPATION, FREE STATE PROVINCE, GRANDPARENTS, HIV/AIDS, ORPHANS, ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN (OVC), POVERTY
Print: HSRC Library: shelf number 6492
HANDLE: 20.500.11910/4122
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11910/4122
If you would like to obtain a copy of this Research Output, please contact Hanlie Baudin at researchoutputs@hsrc.ac.za.
Abstract
A pervasive argument in the literature on AIDS orphans in South Africa is that grandparents, who often care for their orphaned grandchildren, lack the material means to provide adequate care. This study investigated that claim in an area of ubiquitous poverty and very high unemployment. It is based on the analysis of data obtained from two surveys carried out by the HSRC in the semi-rural municipality of Kopanong in the Free State. The first study was a census which targeted the whole population. The second, smaller survey sampled households which accommodated orphaned and vulnerable children. Based on four proxy indicators for material care: possession of birth certificates, uptake of welfare grants, levels of school attendance, and the number of meals consumed daily, the study revealed that there was very little difference in the quality of care provided by grandparents and other carers, including biological parents. Indeed, since the old age pension is much higher than the child support grant and the foster care grant it may be that grandparents who are pensioners generally have higher incomes than most other adults. In line with the findings of other research, the study found that poverty is a major problem confronting all carers in the area. It concludes that interventions that primarily target orphans overlook the material needs of all poor children. It therefore joins the calls of other researchers for greater state support for all poor children, irrespective of whether they are orphans and who their carers are.-
Related Research Outputs:
- Building resilience: a rights-based approach to children and HIV/AIDS in Africa
- No small issue: children and families: universal action now
- Family ties: reconstructing the care of vulnerable children: the 'orphan' label doesn't help
- The development, implementation and evaluation of interventions for the care of orphans and vulnerable children in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe: A literature review of evidence-based interventions for home-based child-centred development
- Evaluating replacement childcare arrangements: methods for combining economic and child development outcome analyses
- Just a little smile
- CHAMPioning families to fight AIDS
- A situation analysis of OVC services in the Kopanong municipality, Free State
- The use of implementation research networks on orphans and vulnerable children to encourage research-driven policies: the case of Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe
- A monitoring dilemma: orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS
- "Going to scale": the cost-effectiveness of alternative interventions to support vulnerable children and families in the context of poverty and HIV/AIDS
- Enhancing resilience in children affected by HIV and AIDS: children's views and experiences of resilience enhancing family and community practices
- Report and policy brief from the 4th Africa Conference on social aspects of HIV/AIDS research: innovations in access to prevention, treatment and care in HIV/AIDS, Kisumu, Kenya, 29 April-3 May 2007
- Boundaries of care: the role of the school in supporting vulnerable children in the context of HIV and AIDS
- Interventions for orphans and vulnerable children at four project sites in South Africa
- "Going to scale"
- Going to scale: a randomised community trial to determine the cost-effectiveness of alternative interventions to support highly vulnerable children and families in the context of HIV, AIDS and poverty
- A systematic review on the meaning of the concept 'AIDS orphan': confusion over definitions and implications for care
- Editorial: 'what now, what next': reflecting on the vulnerability of children and youth in the context of human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
- Targeting AIDS orphans and child-headed households?: a perspective from national surveys in South Africa, 1995-2005