Another factor which aggravated the socio-economic problems of many urbanites was the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), introduced by the Transitional Govern- ment of Ethiopia in November 1991. With the introduction of this program, many Ethi- opians lost their jobs and joined the vast number of unemployed. Almost all these peo- ple concentrated in various urban centres of Ethiopia, a substantial portion being in Addis Ababa. Any individual may suffer the consequences of job loss, however, when it came to families with their dependent children, the problems were more severe. Some mothers were forced to abandon their children when their husbands lost their jobs and stopped supporting the family.
Over one-third of the country’s urban population resides in Addis Ababa. Like many other metropolitan areas in developing countries, the city is growing at a rate faster than what the existing employment opportunities, infrastructural set-ups, hous- ing and social services can cope with (Solomon 1993). In the industrialised countries where urbanisation goes hand-in-hand with industrialisation, societal agencies have gradually taken over familial and community roles. However, the net effect of urban- isation in Ethiopia is breaking down the traditional supportive system rendered by nuclear and extended families and the community at large, often leaving the people without alternative supportive systems.
In spite of an apparent recognition of the consequences of child abandonment and a variety of societal responses to the problem, several questions remain unanswered. This article explores the conditions and possible causes of the most extreme form of child abandonment involving the killing of the child. It focuses on case studies of mothers of these children. The article is extracted from a large study conducted towards the end of 1995 involving abandoned children, mothers who abandoned their children, the police (who fetch abandoned children) and professionals and para-professionals working for child welfare institutions. To assess the socio-economic conditions of those mothers, ethnographic methods (i.e. case studies, in-depth interviews) as well as secondary data from different institutions have been utilised.
The definition of child abandonment is culture-bound, and thus the form and in- terpretation of child abandonment may differ. According to UNICEF, abandoned