"Caring for Children in Rural Ethiopia" - A Qualitative Data Analysis of Roles and Responsibilities for Childcare within Families and the Community in the Rural Villages Mere-Mieti and Ilkin

Abstract

Aim of this research is exploring the childcare responsibilities within the households and on community-level in two rural villages in the Tigray region, Ethiopia. A focus on childcare providers such as parents, children, other relatives, the community and care institutions, has to provide an insight in understanding the management of childcare in the rural villages. In rural Ethiopia, as expected, the lack of formal care institutions resulted in the finding that childcare is predominantly provided within the informal sphere. Despite the limited presence of formal care institutions, a focus on healthcare issues was included, which shows attention is paid to improve utilization of the healthcare services. However, creating awareness by the use of HEW’s and network leaders is mainly focused on maternal and child health under the age of 5 and on preventing diseases. Children older than five are treated the same as adults and due accessibility, financial resources and to the fact that it is unclear which treatment they have to pay for, utilization is limited. Concerning the informal sphere, childcare responsibilities are predominantly divided within the household. As such, parents and children take the main responsibilities. Although the mother is seen as the primary caretaker due to her presence in the household, and the father as the secondary due to his financial contributions, it is found that children play a significant role as well generally starting from age 7. It depends on gender in which way the boy or girl embodies their role as childcare providers. Household and direct childcare activities are conceived as women’s tasks whereas agricultural activities or forms of generating income are performed by boys. Lastly, the community members and other relatives are less involved in taking care of children. Their contribution can be found in advising families on health issues but not particularly on childcare within the household.