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The aim of this study is to explore the import of the right to alternative care for children, as well as the various aspects of the acceptance and recognition of child-headed households as a form of alternative care in light of the international standards for the protection of children as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and the Welfare of the Child and other relevant international instruments. Firstly, this study provides an overview of the international legal framework governing the right to alternative care for children. Furthermore, an impression of alternative care in its manifold guises in the sub-Saharan context is provided, based on information from nine selected African countries, namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland and Uganda. This research further intends to clarify and define the concept of child-headed households, on the basis of the factual situation in the aforementioned countries, followed by an analysis of the pros and cons of the legal recognition of child-headed households. In addition, national rules and regulations relating to alternative care for children from the nine focus countries are discussed. Based on the results of this study, recommendations will be made to further the advancement of policies relating to children’s right to alternative care in general, as well as the improvement of the protection of children who are at risk of ending up in a household headed by a child. Notwithstanding the author’s acknowledgement of the deplorable situation of millions of children in sub-Saharan Africa, this research emphatically does not seek to provide a solution to practical problems; conversely, this study aims to provide an insight into children’s right to alternative care, the consequences of the ratification of international standards and the importance of adequate implementation thereof for the purposes of middle- to long-term policymaking. This course of action is wholly in line with the modus operandi of both the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child as well as with research carried out by the African Child Policy Forum.