Daniel Reijer

Daniel Reijer (1978) studied Human Geography of Developing Countries at the Radboud University in Nijmegen. His MA thesis focused on the urban to rural migration of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in Zambia where he conducted fieldwork in 2001/2002. Following his studies Daniel held several positions, including researcher and data manager for the UNFPA/UNAIDS/NIDI Resource Flows Projects at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute.

He began working on his PhD project entitled “Strengthening the capacity of elderly caregivers in caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zambia” at the Amsterdam School in March 2007. This project, which is part of the IS-Academy HIV/AIDS (Cooperation between the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the University of Amsterdam) has a duration of four years. The aim of the project is to provide a better understanding of the changing dependency between OVCs and their elderly caregivers and to develop a clear programme of action for elderly caring for OVCs. This project that is primarily aimed at the well-being of children focuses on children as active members of their family networks with clear decision making roles.