Child Well-Being In An Urban Evelopment Context (A Case of Khartoum State, Sudan)

Abstract

The Study is an assessment of the status of Vulnerable and disadvantage children in Khartoum State. lt is a logical understanding of the dynamics through which the household, demographic, and community characteristics influence child well-being. ln addition, one important challenge is to investigate the availability of gender differentials in child well-being and the causal factors The Study comprises two sub-studies, the first is qualitative analysis, this sub-study provides an overview about the current status of children in Khartoum, it depends in this part on the reports and studies of the govermnental and non-govemmental organizations in Khartoum concerned with children, it also depends mainly on the reports compiled by the MENA Child Protection Initiative in ‘T Arab Cities including Khartoum. ln-depth interviews were conducted as part of this sub-study with the officials in Khartoum to understand the situations of children; moreover, focus group discussions were conducted with mothers to understand their perception regarding their children’s situations. The other sub-study was quantitative analysis. This stage includes data collection and analysis at three levels, namely, the household level (socio-economic profile of the parents), the individual level (the child himself/herself), and the community level (the environment). The first group was made up of socio~economic indicators. Most measures were based on three separate but linked dimensions of socio-economic characteristics: family income, father and mother occupation, and their education. The second group of explanatory factors includes variables relative to demographic characteristics of children or their mothers: birth order of the child, age of mother at birth of child, and whether or not a sibling has died. The third group of explanatory variables includes environmental factors, those relating to housing conditions; This includes the latrine type, the light power, waste collection and other variables relating to the environment surrotmding the child. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) is used for the data processing and analysis. The study’s assumptions were confirmed and the vast disparities in children status among their different level were revealed with their causal factors. The study extracted some recommendations and policies to be implemented to enhance the well-being of children in Khartoum State.