• Mary A Sala.
• East Afr J Public Health. 2009 Dec 1;6(3):312-6.

ObjectiveTo assess the quality of foster care with regard to the provision of food, clothing and shelter to orphaned children under foster care.SettingKibera Division in Nairobi, Kenya.MethodologyThis was a cross-sectional survey. A total of 82 respondents were obtained using the Snowball Sampling Technique. Focus Group Discussions were conducted with 37-orphaned children who were studied in 4 separate groups of males and females. Eighteen (18) Key Informants were interviewed. A questionnaire was used to collect Quantitative data from foster care providers. Qualitative data was obtained by using Focus Group Discussion Guides and Key Informant Interview Guides.ResultsNearly 49% of the foster care providers rated food quality as fair while 29.3% of them reported poor quality. The majority of the orphaned children had only one meal per day while others did not get any food at home. Over 73% of the foster care providers reported that the children's clothing was inadequate. About 90% of the foster care providers lacked adequate shelter. The number of people sharing the same shelter had a Mean of 6, = 2 Standard Deviation. Overcrowding explains episodes of pneumonia and 83% cases of coughs and colds among the orphaned children. Over 56% of the foster care providers live below the poverty line. Nearly 10% of the respondents provided foster care to at least 5 orphaned children. The Mean number of orphaned children was 2.2 per household in 2005, an increase from 1.9 in 2004, with a Median of 3, +/- 1.3 Standard Deviation.ConclusionThe quality of foster care is poor and the quantity is inadequate. There is evidence that families are struggling to provide adequate and good quality of food, clothing and shelter to orphaned children, exposing them to the risk of malnutrition, low self-esteem and respiratory tract infections.

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