Children’s Living Arrangements in Sub-Saharan Africa: Assessing Trends and Diversities Evidence from Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems

Zacharie Tsala Dimbuene, Statistics Canada
Osman Sankoh, INDEPTH Network

We use longitudinal prospective data from Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems from six sites (Nanoro and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Niakhar, Senegal; Nairobi (Kenya); Nairobi, Kenya; Rufiji, Tanzania; and Africa Centre, South Africa) to describe the changes and diversities in living arrangements for children under 20 years. Findings revealed significant variations in children’s living arrangements by gender and age, within site and across sites. We identify three major regimes referred to as a very conservative regime of children’s living arrangements in Burkina Faso; a conservative regime in Kenya, Senegal and Tanzania, and a transitional regime in South Africa.