Mapping Children on the Move within Africa iv. situations, including the girl-child and children separated from their parents; Registration and documentation of children on the move and for gathering data and statistics (disaggregated by sex and age) on children on the move within, outside and into their territories 1.4 Methodology 1.4.1 Research Design Available research and data on children on the move is largely focused on their arrival at the end destination outside of Africa (e.g. EU). Much of the data also provides some insights as to the challenges encountered by children on the move during their journey (e.g. abuse including sexual, exploitation, forced labour, etc.) with a specific focus on transit countries (e.g. Libya). However, they provide scanty details on the response of transition countries – although information on specific countries could be sometimes collated through media reports and other official reports nor does the available data cover the different countries through which many children move. As a result, the literature shows significant gaps in terms of geographic coverage with a bias towards children arriving in Europe, which is restrictive knowing that 80% of migration in Africa occurs within the continent; limited analysis of frameworks and responses of African countries; and little analysis on the pull and push factors. This renders the focus of this study largely unexplored in literature and research. This study therefore adopts an exploratory research design. The primary purpose of the exploratory research design is to investigate and map out a problem with a view to stimulating further inquiry into the phenomenon.13 The choice of an exploratory research design is also to ensure that the study can provide preliminary but comprehensive information on the situation, nature, trends and responses to children on the move. It is to further facilitate the collection and analysis of information on the children on the move to inform the necessary interventions by States, the ACERWC and other stakeholders. Given the resources allotted for the study and the breadth of the problem in Africa, the research largely focused on desk work with targeted interviews with key informants. It adopted a regional case-study approach that seeks to present the issues through an examination of sub-regional situations, namely, Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa. While specific country cases are cited where possible to promote learning, the data is presented from the prism of the five geographical regions of the AU. The data and case studies will be analysed along the following key issues: a. The extent to which children are on the move in the five geographical regions of the continent with a focus on the drivers (push and pull factors); b. Regional responses (political, legislative, policy and institutional) to challenges faced by children on the move in Africa; c. The level of commitment and compliance to regional normative standards (ratification, domestication and implementation of key treaties including state reporting). In terms of data, the study relied on existing primary data available through different data portals of the UN System; including the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 13 Rwegoshora HMM, A Guide to Social Science Research 2ed (2014) p 90. 13