Shifting weather caused by climate change, especially drought and heat, is linked to a rise in the number of children being raised outside of their biological parents’ households in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State. The findings highlight the effects climate change may have on children and social support systems, researchers said, a question that has received relatively little attention from researchers and the policy community.
The researchers found that when households in sub-Saharan Africa experienced less than typical precipitation in the year prior — droughts, in many cases — they were less likely to add a foster child to their household. Among the households with the most children, precipitation deficits also increased the likelihood a child would be out-fostered — sent to live in another household. Heat stress was also associated with changes in children’s living arrangements, reducing the likelihood that better-off households would in-foster children.
In many parts of Africa, fostering is a common and often informal practice, the researchers said, with children living with families other than their biological parents for anywhere between a few months and several years. Fostering can serve several purposes, including to help children access better educational opportunities, to reduce the resource demand in the sending household and to provide labor to the receiving household.
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Categories: Pennsylvania, Weather