ActionAid International - Combined Harare Residents’ Association - A Study on the impact of “Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order” single (Table 2). 3.1.1 Vulnerable groups The following section defines various vulnerable groups important in emergencies and used as variables to disaggregate survey data. These groups include households hosting orphans, households with chronically ill members, female-headed households, elderlyheaded households with no productive-age (18 to 60 years) members, and households headed by minors (less than 18 years) commonly referred to as child headed households. 3.1.1.1 Orphans Orphans, for the purpose of the study, are defined as children under 18 years of age who have one or more parents deceased. Orphans have been further classified as those who have one parent deceased and the remaining parent lives in the same household, those who have one parent deceased and the remaining parent lives outside of the same household, and those who have both parents deceased (double orphans). Almost a third (32%) of households surveyed were hosting at least an orphan. Female-headed households bear much of the burden in caring for orphans, with over forty percent (41%) of their households hosting at least one orphan child, while about 26% of male headed households are doing the same. It is well documented in Africa that there is a greater probability in women headed households hosting orphans compared to male headed households. This not only creates extra load on women but also limits the amount of time dedicated to other survival needs. 3.1.1.2 Chronically Ill, mentally ill and physically challenged Another vulnerable group are chronically ill members, physically challenged and mentally ill. Chronically ill individuals, for the purposes of the study, are those who have been ill for three months or longer prior to the study. This would include individuals with HIV/AIDS, and other long-term illnesses. Chronically ill individuals were present in 13% of households surveyed. However, this may be an underestimation due to stigma still attached to HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, due to the sensitivity and confidentiality of the information this survey did not exhaustively explore HIV/AIDS even though it is of great importance. Chronic illness in Zimbabwe is largely an HIV/AIDS issue, and to some degree it is used by in this study as a proxy for HIV/AIDS. More detailed figures are presented in Table 3, below for several strata. Chronically ill individuals comprise the majority of the vulnerable in this category. Almost 13% of households include at least one chronically ill individual, while 6% include at least mentally/physically challenged person. There is a small but significant difference between the percentages of chronically ill found in male- and female-headed households. There is no difference, however, in the number of disabled individuals between the two household types. Table 3: Percent of households with chronically ill and mentally/physically challenged persons Chronically Ill Mentally/physically Individuals challenged individuals Category % of households General Population 13 6 Male-headed households 11 5 Female-headed 15 6 households 6