Child fostering among nomadic Turkana pastoralists: demographic and health consequences
Shell Duncan, B.K.
African pastoralist systems an integrated approach: 147-164
1994
Document Number: 325493
A striking characteristic of family organization in many ethnic groups throughout sub-Saharan Africa is that children frequently reside in a household other than that of their natal parents. The chapter describes how children are often transferred from their natal home to that of a guardian, who cares for them for several months or even years. The system is called child fostering, lending, relocating or circulating and it is not always precipitated by a crisis in the household of the biological parents, rather it is a common and accepted means of child rearing. The exchange of children from kin forms a network of obligations and alliances and strengthens affective ties between family members. In addition, fosterage provides a mechanism for spreading wealth and resources throughout the family, for example a relative in need of labour may foster a child. The chapter draws attention to the proposition that fostering may account in part for the persistence of high levels of fertility in sub-Saharan Africa despite the efforts of family planning programmes to reduce fertility, by removing the economic constraint of prolific child-bearing by weakening the relationship between the number of children a women bears and the number she supports. The link between fostering and child morbidity and mortality, is also highlighted, suggesting that attitudes of foster parents toward fostered children may affect the quality of child care. A case study of the Turkana pastoralists in northwestern Kenya examines these points through data collected following an 18-month field study of sociocultural and biological determinants of childhood morbidity and mortality.