Health and Social Problems of Street Children in Nazareth Town.
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Date
1995-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The exact number of street children in any givencountry is not known. To determine the number, health,and social problems of the street children, a crosssectional survey was conducted in Nazareth town, southeastern Ethiopia, from November to December 1994.Accordingly 5138 street children were counted during a one day census , by means of a systematic sampling. 597
subjects were selected into the study, 526(88.1%) Males and 71(11.9%) Females. The age ranged from 5 to 18 with mean age of 12.9 and SD of 3. 16. (41.2%) of the children left their families when they were 10-14 years old, and 30 . 7% were separated in early childhood (0-4 years). Only (1 8 . 3%) were attending school currently, (54.6%) were children "on" the street and t he rest (45 . 4%) were "of" the street children, (67.2%) of the children eat at least twice daily, (14. 6%) of the children reported the use of at least one of the substances like Alcohol ,cigarette, and chat. (61.6%) of the children reported an illness during the survey. The major health complaints were abdominal pain, cough and chest pain, eye and ear problems, headache and leg ulcer . This survey indicated that substance use, police arrest, sexual intercourse and STDs were reported more frequently among the "of " the
street children . In conclusion, the street children have complex social and health problems which need to be addressed utilizing a multisectoral approach.
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Keywords
Health , Social Problems ,Street Children