The HIV/AIDS epidemic has led to many situations where both parents have died and left behind a family of orphans.
The eldest children often have to stop going to school and get a job instead in order to gain income for the family.
[2] A study by Cornell University in 2005 showed that, in Namibia, the average age of the children acting as parents in their families was 17; some were as young as 9 years old.
[4] The number of children heading households in sub-Saharan Africa is reported to be growing.
[5] A survey in South Africa in 2006 showed that 122,000 (0.67%) of the country's children were living in child-headed households.