Children of Ewe migrant mothers living outside marriage in the city of Accra: some consequences and policy implications

Delali M Badasu, University of Ghana

Socio-cultural transformations of African societies, including Ghana's, have brought about many consequences for the living arrangements of children and parental care for them. Findings of some recent studies indicate that, contrary to the assumption that children have access to the resources of both parents, children reside separately from one or both parents for significant periods of their childhood. The present study examined the consequences and policy implications of the experiences of children of Ewe migrant mothers in Accra who are living outside marriage. Almost two-thirds lived with their mothers alone but none of them lived with the father only. The rest were living with other relatives, mostly their matrikin. Some mothers were single parents by choice but majority were so by circumstances. Twenty-five percent of the children were not receiving any paternal maintenance. The attempts by most mothers to secure paternal support were unsucessful. The findings have policy implications.