Social support for orphaned children in Busia Township: challenges and prospects

Worldwide, there are more than140 million children under the age of 18 years who are orphaned because of HIV/AIDS and other causes. More than 46.6 million of these children come from Sub-Saharan Africa and more than 2 million in Kenya with challenges such as poor nutrition, poor shelter and lack of access to educational facilities. Busia County is among the top five counties in Kenya with the highest HIV/AIDs prevalence rates and deaths. County statistics indicate that there are thousands of orphans particularly in Busia Township in need of assistance. There are several social support programmes that are offered by both the government and non-governmental organizations. However, it remains unclear how these programs select their beneficiaries, and more importantly, their interventions in relation to the needs and priorities of the orphans. The main objective of this study was to investigate factors that undermine social support systems for Orphans in Busia Township and to establish the prospects of such programmes in the County. Specifically, the study sought to examine methods used by organizations in identifying and selecting orphans into social support programs in Busia Township, to identify challenges faced in the delivery of social support services and to determine the social protection interventions provided to orphans in relation to their needs and priorities. The study was guided by the welfare economic theory. The study employed cross-sectional descriptive design to describe factors undermining social support programs for orphaned children in Busia Township. The study targeted a total of 916 households with registered orphans from which 260 were selected based on Krejcie & Morgan table. Multistage sampling technique was used to sample the 260 households from the target population. In addition, 7 key informants from relief organizations were selected to participate in the study. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interview guides. Descriptive statistics such as percentages were used to analyse quantitative data with qualitative analysis employed to analyse qualitative data. Findings indicate that social support systems in Busia Township are confronted with several challenges ranging from targeting process, resource constraints and poor coordination. In addition, most of the interventions provided by organizations are largely protective. The study recommend a thorough review of targeting approaches, enhancement of preventive interventions as well as provision of institutional care for those children living in the streets.