Education and Nutritional Status of Orphans and Children of HIV-Infected Parents in Kenya

Vinod Mishra, ORC Macro
Fred Arnold, ORC Macro
Fredrick Otieno, Central Bureau of Statistics
Anne R. Cross, ORC Macro

We examine how school enrollment and nutritional status of orphans and children of HIV-infected parents differ from children of non-HIV-infected parents in Kenya. We also examine how parental and family characteristics differ between children of HIV-infected parents and children of non-HIV-infected parents. Our analysis is based on data from the 2003 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). The 2003 Kenya DHS is the first population-based nationally-representative survey to link individual HIV test results with the full set of behavioral, social, and demographic indicators included in the survey. Data are analyzed using both descriptive and multivariate statistical methods. Initial results indicate that 11 percent of children are orphaned and that these children are both nutritionally and educationally disadvantaged. Seven percent of Kenyan adults are HIV positive—9 percent of women and 5 percent of men. We determine whether children of HIV-infected parents are subject to greater disadvantage in health and education.