[N(poster)] Poster Session

Japanese

[1O07] Potential for improving the safety net function through the cooperation of multiple parents

*Ayako UMETSU¹, *Hiroya TANAKA (1. Nagoya University / Nanzan University)

Keywords:

Child poverty,Child transfer,Customary adoption and fosterage,Mathematical model

Sustainable Development Goal 1 aims to eradicate poverty. Significant challenges remain, particularly for children, who are more likely to experience poverty than adults. To eradicate child poverty, as well as government policies and programs, it is important to respond to each child through grassroots activities. This study examines the practice of customary adoption and fosterage, known as ri'ko in the Hausa society of West Africa, from a cultural anthropological perspective. Further, we explore the general applicability of our findings using mathematical models.
Customary adoption and fosterage of children is practiced prevalently in the Hausa society. Foster parents are respected as parents for the care they provide for children. In this custom, there is no change in the parentage between birth parents and their children, and interaction is maintained among the foster family (foster parents and migrated child) and biological parents. In some cases, foster parents even receive financial support from biological parents, and perhaps because the relationship between birth parents and their children is maintained, there exists a reduced mental barrier to child migration for biological parents.
In this presentation, we highlight the instances where the biological parents provided financial support to their children. We point out that two sets of parents who have a good relationship create a ‘double safety net.’ In addition, we quantitatively analyze the financial role as the safety net using a simplified mathematical model. This study aims to elucidate diverse parent-child relationships, which contribute to eliminating child poverty from the perspective of child welfare.