This is the first monthly update of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Learning Platform published in May 2022. 

Childrearing in sub-Saharan Africa is often viewed as collaborative, where children benefit from support from kin. For single mothers living in informal settlements, kin networks may be highly dispersed and offer little day-to-day childrearing support, but may provide opportunities for child fostering. This study conducted in Nairobi, Kenya, uses a linked lives approach, where single mothers’ connections with kin and romantic partners may influence whether – and what type of – kin are relied on to support child fostering.

The Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Learning Platform hosted a webinar on 11 May 2022 examining why it is important to align care systems in development and humanitarian contexts and provides practical examples from Kenya and Uganda.

Join us on the 11th of May from 11.00 - 12.30 Nairobi time to explore the importance of ensuring that care systems developed in humanitarian settings adhere to national standards and contribute to the development of national care systems. Examples from Uganda and Kenya will illustrate how care systems in refugee camps can be aligned with the national care system.

The Task Force on Foster Care of the Transforming Children's Care Global Collaborative Platform held the second spotlight webinar series on identifying foster carers on 5 May 2022.

This study found a strong relationship between the care environment and resilience in orphaned and separated adolescents and youths (OSAY) in western Kenya. Care environment and resilience each independently demonstrated strong relationships with peer support, social support, and participating in volunteer activities. Resilience also had a strong relationship with familial support. These data suggest that resilience can be developed through strategic supports to this vulnerable population.

The migration of parents is believed to be for the sake of children and families left behind. However, its impact on children left behind has been overlooked in Southern Wollo, Ethioipia. The impact of parental migration on the education and behavioral outcomes of children left behind has to be investigated in the migration-prone area. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of the migration of parent(s) on the education and behavioral outcomes of children left behind.

Safety parents – charged with the temporary care of children in emergency cases – have called on the government for much-needed financial support.  The Department of Social Development said as many as 1 300 children had been placed in the care of safety parents in the province.

The purpose of this study is therefore to better understand these influences from the perspective of CCI directors and decision makers, what influences and what creates an enabling environment and what, if any, implications these findings have for local, national, and global care reform strategies and approaches. The consultant will be the primary person responsible for the implementation of the research project. The total length of the consultancy is 20 days.

This is the second monthly update of the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Learning Platform published in April 2022.