The Gendered Face of Orphanhood: the Double Vulnerability of Female Orphans in Child-headed Households in Kisumu East District

Introduction In 1997, the first comprehensive global estimates of orphans revealed that the number of orphans was increasing and that responding to orphaning as a social problem was limited. Studies on Sub-Saharan Africa in the early 1990s indicated an increase in the number of orphans and the breakdown of protective social networks and support for them. Between 1990 and 2000, orphans in Africa increased from 30.9 million to 41.5 million; they were 48.3 in 2006 and it was projected by two UN ...