The dynamics of crisis fostering among a double unilineal descent people of Ugep, Cross River State, Nigeria

David Akeju, University of Lagos
Oka Obono, University of Ibadan

Crisis fostering was first used in 1985 in a study of child fosterage in West Africa to describe a type of fosterage propelled by unpleasant circumstances. At the time, fosterage was largely influenced by high prevalence of child mortality. Mothers, who could not watch their children die, usually entrust them to members of other distant households. While early literature emphasized high child mortality rate as a driving force of crisis fosterage, recent survey data collected across 456 households and 291 orphans in Ugep show that factors influencing crisis fostering has taken a new form. Results highlight parental death, household composition, divorce and separation, as factors driving crisis fosterage. Qualitative data further reveal the role of the double unilineal descent system among the Yakurr people of Nigeria in mediating the impact of crisis fostering. Despite this change, the network of kin still plays very crucial role in foster care.