Alternative Child Care and Deinstitutionalisation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Findings of a Desk Review

This desk review is part of a wider study commissioned to SOS Children’s Villages International by the European Commission. The overall study aims to map the issue of alternative care and deinstitutionalization in countries in Asia, South and Central America, and Africa. It also seeks to increase the evidence on child protection, alternative care and deinstitutionalization and on how this can be addressed, in order to potentially inform future initiatives in these continents, at country or regional level.

The study comprises three continental desk reviews and six field-based case studies. This report is the desk review on alternative care and deinstitutionalisation in Africa. It is accompanied by two country case studies: one focussing on Nigeria and one on Uganda. The results of the regional reports and case studies are synthesised in a report entitled Towards the Right Care for Children: Orientations for reforming alternative care systems. Africa, Asia, Latin America (European Union, Brussels, 2017).