Child Fostering in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Has Changed over Time?

Cassandra Cotton, Arizona State University

Child fostering has been documented over time in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. We know little, however, about how the prevalence of fostering differs across countries and broad regions, nor about how fostering – and its predictors – have changed within countries over time. To explore prevalence, trends, and predictors of child fostering, I leverage Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 132 surveys in 38 countries collected between 1986 and 2017, representing all regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Preliminary results suggest significant variation in the prevalence of fostering, ranging from 2.8% of children in Sudan to 34.3% in Namibia. Fostering trends have changed significantly over time in the majority of countries, with nearly one-third of countries experiencing a significant increase over time. Early results suggest that while the prevalence of fostering has changed over time in many countries, predictors have largely remained the same.