Orphans in Liberia: Challenges of a Sub-Saharan African Country - Essay Sample

Introduction

Every health crisis, be it pathogenic or anthropogenic often result in orphans. The world has about 132 million orphans, and of these, 56 million of the orphans are from sub-Saharan Africa (Levey, Oppenheim, Lange, Plasky, Harris, Lekpeh, Kekulah, ...& Borba, 2017). Liberia is a sub-Saharan country in Africa that has often been faced with economic, political as well as health issues that have always put its different systems on the test. Between 1989 and 2003, Liberia was facing a civil war, and by 2008, Liberia had a population of 3.5 million with 340,000 orphans (Levey et al., 2017). The HIV pandemic then emerged, and this increased the number of orphans even more. Later in 2014 and 2015, Ebola hit the nation, leaving 6000 more children orphaned, and leaving with relatives, caregivers or in orphanages. These numbers do not only depict the health as well as economic straits the nation is facing, but also the instabilities that these children are subjected to socially, spiritually, emotionally and physically as they are forced to live without the love, care and providence of their parents. It is, therefore, crucial to assess the conditions that these children live in, the dynamics of being orphans, the structures of the orphanages and the impacts that such an upbringing has on the physical and mental health of the orphans.

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Ebola has been the most prevalent risk factor when it comes to the issue of orphans. In Liberia, the population structure has the number of individuals below 15 years being equal to that of individuals between 15 and 44 years. However, the Ebola virus disease affects the latter three times more than the formers, and thus resulting in more orphans as those affected are the most probable parents to the children under 15 years (Evans & Popova, 2015). The 2014 Ebola pandemic left 1,800 maternal orphans (death of the mother), 2,200 paternal orphans (death of the father) and 200 double orphans (death of both parents) in Liberia, and this is just a scope of how a health crisis can increase orphans.

While orphanages are the most primary facilities that orphans depend on for care and provision, some orphans more so those who live around their extended families are taken in by their relatives once the parents are dead. However, even though they are often guaranteed of care, many of the orphans living with their relatives, as well as those in orphanages face neglect, exploitation, and abuse from their caregivers (Levey, 2017). Depression, mental health issues, suicidal thoughts among other outcomes are hence prevalent to such orphans. Others, more so the adolescent orphans engage in risky sexual activities and behaviors. They are thus susceptible to incidences of sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and unplanned pregnancies (Juma, Askew, Alaii, Bartholomew, & van den Borne, 2014). HIV-related deaths result in about 27% of orphans, of whom two-thirds are adolescents. Ironically these adolescents are similarly at risk of contracting the disease, as well as other issues such as malnutrition, discrimination, and stigma due to the nature of their orphanhood, that is HIV (Nichols, Embleton, Mwangi, Morantz, Vreeman, Ayaya, ... Braitstein, 2014). These orphans are less likely to attend school more likely to go to bed hungry and are subjected to labor, more so in sub-Saharan Africa. However, studies conducted between orphans and non-orphans concluded that no discrepancies or differences existed in the tendency of either group to be subject to physical or sexual abuse (Nichosl et al., 2014). In spite of this, the orphans are a vulnerable group as opposed to the non-orphans.

The economic, social, political, and cultural aspects of a country often intertwine with orphanhood. In Liberia, 88% of the orphans in orphanages are individuals who have one or even both of their parents alive (The Guardian 2009). This is a trend that has been primarily attributed to by the socio-economic status prevailing in Liberia since most of its population live below the poverty line. Therefore, many parents often prefer to take their children to orphanages, as these are the only facilities that provide free education. Thus, rather than the often stated deaths as the result of the institutionalization of children in orphanages, poverty stands out as the most causative factor. Many parents, therefore, resort to orphanages when they cannot cope with the economic constraints that result from disasters, illnesses, and family breakdowns. This has, however, has negative impacts on these children as they are often faced with challenges such as poor sanitation, stunted grown, limited independence, and autonomy. Many of the orphans in Liberia, including those orphaned by Ebola, lack a support system once they lose their parent(s) (Collins, 2015). While orphanages exist, the policies have not been inclusive enough, that many orphans are left to scramble in streets for food and shelter. Parents who are left behind when their spouses succumb to illnesses or conflicts have a hard time taking care of their children and battling to adjust to the new normal.

The health and protection of children are often granted a priority in many states, but in many developing countries, circumstances do not allow for this. In Liberia, civil wars, natural disasters, illnesses, and poverty, among other factors, often cause the children to be orphaned or reside in orphanages. In most cases, the conditions in these orphanages are unfavorable, leaving these children vulnerable to diseases, abuse, stigmatization, and discrimination

References

Collins, P. (2015). What happened to Liberia's Ebola orphans? IRIN News, 2016. Retrieved from IRIN: The inside story on emergencies website http://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2015/10/07/what-happened-liberia's-Ebola-orphans

Evans D. K. & Popova A. (2015). Orphans and Ebola: Estimating the Secondary Impact of a Public Health Crisis. Word bank group. Policy Research Working Paper 7196. Pp. 1-10. Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/381871468257328445/pdf/WPS7196.pdf

Juma M., Askew I., Alaii J. Bartholomew L. K., & van den Borne B. (2014). Cultural practices and sexual risk behavior among adolescent orphans and non-orphans: a qualitative study on perceptions from a community in western Kenya. BMC Public Health. 14(1). Pp. 84-90. Doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-84

Levey E. J., Oppenheim C. E., Lange B. C. L., Plasky N. S., Harris B. L., Lekpeh G. G., Kekulah I., ... & Borba C. P. G. (2017) A qualitative analysis of parental loss and family separation among youth in post-conflict Liberia, Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies,12(1). Pp. 1-16, DOI: 10.1080/17450128.2016.1262978

Liberian orphanages, (2009). The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/gallery/2009/nov/24/international-aid-and-development-children

Nichols, J., Embleton, L., Mwangi, A., Morantz, G., Vreeman, R., Ayaya, S., ... Braitstein, P. (2014). Physical and sexual abuse in orphaned compared to non-orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Child abuse & neglect, 38(2). Pp. 304-316. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.09.012