Kenya’s Minister for Social Protection, Florence Bore, has revealed the government’s intention to phase out all privately-owned orphanages and children’s homes within the next eight years in a significant move to combat child trafficking and enhance the welfare of vulnerable children.
The decision was made in response to growing worries about the exploitation and maltreatment of kids in such facilities.
According to a 2017 report by the United Nations children’s agency, an estimated 40,000 children were living in 811 registered institutions across Kenya. Data on unregistered institutions remains unavailable, raising further concerns about the extent of the issue.
Minister Florence Bore, in a statement posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), emphasized that the government is already in the process of reforming existing children’s homes and orphanages. She expressed the government’s commitment to providing a safer and more nurturing environment for these vulnerable children.
“In the next eight years, private children’s homes will cease to exist. We need to prepare to absorb these children into family and community care,” Minister Bore declared during an inspection of children’s care facilities currently under construction by the Kenyan government.
While the government is discontinuing privately-owned children’s homes, children will still find refuge in facilities managed by the Child Welfare Society of Kenya. This government agency is tasked with the care, protection, welfare, and adoption of children in Kenya, ensuring that they continue to receive appropriate care and support.
The decision to phase out private children’s homes and orphanages stems from the 2022 Children’s Act, which recommended placing children without families in alternative care arrangements such as guardianship, foster care placements, and adoption.
This shift in policy is believed to be a concerted effort to combat the abuse and trafficking of children, which have been ongoing concerns within Kenya’s orphanages and children’s homes.
In 2017, the Stahili Foundation, a non-governmental organization, shed light on distressing practices within some orphanages and children’s homes in Kenya. These institutions were found to persuade families to relinquish their children, only to exploit them for soliciting donations.
Source: BBC