Orphanages do a tragically important job. But they are not the best place for children by any stretch. Donors may unwittingly be the reason children remain in institutions instead of living with families.
Also in today’s edition: The World Health Organization finally releases updated malnutrition guidelines, the IMF examines why sub-Saharan Africa pays so much for its debt, and we look at what a chief of party does.
The word orphanage generally conjures Dickensian images of formidable, high-walled institutions that house hundreds of waif-like children in dormitories crammed with rows of metal-framed beds. Much of the time, though, they are small, woefully underfunded places struggling to help children in pretty dire conditions.