parent is alive but not living with the child, which shows the frequency of family breakdown and single parent families. Orphan children According the DCAT, nearly 7% of children under 18 are orphans of at least one of their parents in 2011-2012, a stable proportion compared to 2005. The proportion of AIDS orphans is not known. Placed children The DCAT results 2011-2012 indicate that 15% of Congolese children live with neither of their biological parents, while in four cases out of five, they are alive. Nationally, the proportion of children not living with any of their biological parents even when they are alive is 12%. Although the practice of fostering has traditionally aimed to improve the living conditions of children, children without their parents while they are alive are poor and vulnerable, particularly with regard to access to education. Child-headed households Children sometimes become heads of households or mothers of children who are abandoned by their spouses. In 2007, according to the general census of population and housing, 0.6% of household were headed by children. Their situation is still very little known. Street children In Congo like elsewhere, street children are exposed to all kinds of risks: violence of all types, lack of affection, no education, disease and neglect, drug abuse, etc. Their number is not known but according to NGOs’ estimates, it has decreased since the end of the civil war. Much of the children in the street are from Congo DRC. Services for orphans, abandoned children and street children There is no comprehensive mapping of services for children deprived of a family environment. Most are civil society initiatives that operate without adequate regulation, accreditation or regular inspection. According to a report by the Ministry of Social Affairs conducted in 2010, there might be 136 structures for vulnerable children. A draft decree on the establishment and opening conditions of care and accommodation structures was developed in 2010 but it is yet to be promulgated. Only a small proportion of these structures are managed by the State, the Centre for insertion and reinsertion of vulnerable children (CIREV) established in 2003 in Brazzaville. The capacities of this centre are small (forty boarding places and as much for half-board in 2010). In principle, the centre provides listening services, family reintegration and support for education. But its operation is often disrupted by delays in disbursement of its budget allocations. Apart from the CIREV, few nurseries, crèches for abandoned children (or children whose parents cannot look after) are managed by the state in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. The capacity of these centres is small (635 seats in kindergarten and nursery, 40 in nurseries in 84

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