Interviewee

Dr Tatek Abebe, Post-doctoral Fellow, Norwegian Centre for Child Research, Norwegian University of Sciences and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

Article

Abebe, T., Aase, A. (2007) Children, AIDS and the politics of orphan care in Ethiopia: the extended family revisited. Social Science & Medicine, 64(10): 2058-69

Summary

Despite popular opinion, 70% of orphans in Ethiopia are non-AIDS orphans, with most orphaned due to famine, war, disease and abandonment mainly due to poverty. For this week's podcast, Michael Bouwman spoke to Dr Tatek Abebe about the complexities of orphan care in Ethiopia. Tatek emphasised the importance of not viewing orphans as victims, as this fails to capture the burden of care shouldered by orphans, their families and communities. Also discussed were factors that influence the quality of care that orphans receive, the influences that surround who a family will provide care for, and how these orphans view themselves as 'resources' to the families that care for them. The outcomes of this study show the need for higher government involvement in care, intervention strategies need to involve disadvantaged children, in general, and to listen to the views of orphans and acknowledge their contributions to the family.

Transcript

Michael Bouwman: Hello I'm Michael Bouwman and today I am pleased to introduce Tatek Abebe, a post-doctoral fellow at the Norwegian Centre for Child Research, Norwegian University of Sciences and Technology. I am speaking with Tatek about his study and article, ‘Children, Aids and the politics of orphan care in Ethiopia; the extended family revisited’, which he co-authored with Asbjorn Aase. Hi Tatek welcome to IPP-SHR podcasts, our congratulations on your excellent work on an important topic that touches the most vulnerable in any community, children. You refer to the orphan burden in relation to AIDS in Ethiopia. Could you explain this notion for our listeners and explain how it can translate into stigma and discrimination for AIDS orphans?

Tatek Abebe: There are many problems associated with our understanding of orphanhood in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa. As you know, welfare programming for and definition of the so-called AIDS orphans, as children below 18 years of age who have lost one or both parents, is simply not compatible with the understanding of who orphans are in many societies and communities. As well as in research and policy, there is also a tendency on the part of the media, in particular, to portray the lives of these children as crisis childhoods. We often hear emotionally charged constructions of the vulnerable orphan, out in the sun, whose childhood has been lost, stolen or is simply non-existent. Also, it’s understandable that the intention here is to draw attention to the problems orphans face, which has, in many ways, resulted in unintended negative consequences. A focus on the problems facing orphans, rather than how orphans themselves face problems, undermines their agency and resilience. It also denies recognition of extended families, who in amazing ways, continue to cope with the burden of care. The other irony is that, orphans but not other children in Africa are seen as burdens. Despite the recognition today, about the role children play in the viability of their households, this fact tends to be completely ignored, or forgotten when it comes to orphans. My argument is that, presenting orphans as simple victims is not helpful, from the viewpoint of policy, because it fails to capture a complex burden of care already shouldered by themselves, their families and communities. On the contrary it adds to the stigma and discrimination they face, in addition to their material deprivation.

Michael Bouwman: The statistics are staggering, aren’t they? There’s approximately 5 million orphans in Ethiopia.

Tatek Abebe: That is the total number of orphans due to other reasons as well, not only because of the AIDS epidemic.

Michael Bouwman: Yes, your paper mentions that 70% of orphans are non-AIDS orphans, due to famine, war or disease - children who’ve generally been abandoned, mainly due to poverty.

Tatek Abebe: Exactly, orphans in Ethiopia, is not something which is new. It has been there in the past as well.

Michael Bouwman: And importantly, you explore the dynamics of care including economic, social, cultural and geographical factors that explain why some orphans receive proper fostering within extended families while others do not. Could you explain them to our listeners?

Tatek Abebe: It’s true, one of the significant things which emerged from our study that the quality and duration of care that orphans receive is greatly influenced by interdependent economic, cultural, geographical, social and personal factors. This includes the circumstance of the children who need support, for example, whether the parents have left resources for orphans; the emotional satisfaction of caregivers, especially grandmothers; spiritual influences; the previous social proximity between orphans deceased parents and their current care giving household. The gender and age of orphans seem to influence who families wish to provide care for. Because of the nature of work they prefer, older boys in the rural areas, and younger girls in urban areas tend to be favoured when it comes to receiving care. In addition, although there seems to be a rural-urban divide in the ability of families to provide care, the picture becomes more complex when we consider cultural norms, as well as, reciprocal relationships between orphans and their care giving families. The interviews, with orphans in our study, also reveals that in most cases they viewed themselves, and were viewed by their families, as resources because, they were a potential source of labour in agricultural production, in domestic work, in trade and in other income generating activities. Michael Bouwman: Yes, and lastly Tatek, what do you think of the policy implications of your work?

Tatek Abebe: I think three issues are important: first, the study has highlighted the need for intervention strategies that are catered to disadvantaged children more widely instead of AIDS orphans in particular. I think that interventions should be tailored to meet the needs of children in families who suffer poverty in general, rather than more specific and narrow categories of orphans. Second, there is a need for the government to have an increased role. So far, most of the efforts to mitigate the burden of care have been shouldered by families and international donor organisations. However, the government should be involved with directly in the delivery of services, as well as enhancing the care giving capacities of AIDS affected families and communities. Third, we have to acknowledge the contributions orphans make to their families through providing resources; and also by giving care for adults, especially when the latter fall sick from AIDS. And in order for this to happen and to address the problems the children face on a daily basis, it is very important to listen to their views about how they develop resilience and to incorporate these views when planning and programming interventions for that.

Michael Bouwman: Well thank you Tatek for giving us your time today and congratulations on your paper.

Tatek Abebe: Thank you very much for having me Michael.