The caring is a very important aspect for every child's well-being and development. A child should be cared for by biological parents or extended family members when possible. In the absence of these two possibilities, other options are in place such as Residential Child Care Facilities (RCCFs). However, RCCFs are generally regarded as last resorts, as it is noted that they have a negative impact on the well-being of the children. Caregivers in RCCFs should ensure that these children are being adequately cared for as they substitute their biological or extended families. It is also a child's rights to be provided love, care and support coupled with a sense of belonging, recognition and independence. However, children without or inadequate parental care are likely to be vulnerable from all forms of violence. The aim of this qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, contextual and phenomenological study was to explore and describe the children's experiences regarding the care received at the Residential Child Care Facilities and to provide recommendations regarding research findings. Data were collected through one on one in-depth interviews and Tech method was used to analyze data. The results of the study show that children in RCCFs have experienced both positive and negative care. The care is experienced through relationships with staff in the facilities, provision of their basic needs, knowledge of their cultural identity and their adult future preparation once they leave the facilities. Thus, it is recommended that a conducive environment that contributes to the quality of care for children in RCCFs be established, taking into consideration human resources capacity, policy guidelines and standards in place while providing care to those children.

Background Understanding what childhood factors influence HIV acquisition risk among young adults, especially young women, is critical as they are disproportionately affected by the global HIV epidemic. Adverse and positive childhood experiences (ACEs and PCEs, respectively), including strong parent-child relationships, may influence HIV acquisition risk among youth (19–24 years) living in sub-Saharan African countries. Methods Using cross-sectional data from the 2019 Namibia Violence Against Children and Youth Survey, we assessed the associations between each of 4 PCEs (including having a strong father-child relationship, strong mother-child relationship, or strong caregiver monitoring and supervision, and ever attending secondary school) and ≥ 3 ACEs with 7 individual sexual HIV risk factors, through sex-stratified multivariable hierarchical models. Interaction terms between ≥ 3 ACEs and the relevant PCE were included in each model. For significant interaction terms, multivariable analyses were done stratifying among those with and without the PCE. Results Strong father-child relationships were inversely associated with 2 HIV risk factors among women (lifetime transactional sex [OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2–0.7] and recent age-disparate sexual relationship [OR 0.3, CI 95% 0.2–0.5]) and significantly interacted with having ≥ 3 ACEs for 3 HIV risk factors among women and 1 among men. Among women without strong father-child relationships, having ≥ 3 ACEs was positively associated with not knowing a partner’s HIV status (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.7–2.4) or infrequently using condoms (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-2.1) in the past year, and ever having an STI (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.2–4.6); among men without strong father-child relationships, ≥ 3 ACEs was positively associated with having multiple sexual partners in the past year (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.9–6.4). Conversely, among women and men with strong father-child relationships, experiencing ≥ 3 ACEs was either not significantly, or inversely, associated with those risk factors. The other PCEs were significantly associated with ≤ 1 HIV risk factor and had no significant interaction terms. Conclusion Among youth in Namibia, strong child-father relationships may reduce HIV acquisition risk and mitigate the effect of childhood adversity on this risk. Improving parent and caregiver support may be an important strategy to reduce the impact of childhood adversity and aid global HIV epidemic control.

Using cross-sectional data from the 2019 Namibia Violence Against Children and Youth Survey and sex-stratified multivariable models, we assessed the associations between four different positive childhood experiences (PCEs) and having ≥3 adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including ≥3 ACE–PCE interaction terms, and seven sexual risk factors for HIV acquisition among young adults aged 19–24 years. One PCE, having a strong father–child relationship, was inversely associated with two risk factors among women (lifetime transactional sex (OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2–0.7) and recent age-disparate sexual relationships (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.2–0.5)), and significantly interacted with having ≥3 ACEs for three risk factors among women (not knowing a partner’s HIV status, infrequently using condoms, and ever having an STI) and one among men (having multiple sexual partners in the past year). The other PCEs were significantly associated with ≤1 HIV risk factor and had no significant interaction terms. Strong father–child relationships may reduce HIV acquisition risk and mitigate the effect of childhood adversity on HIV risk among young adults in Namibia.