The average number of abandonment is one child per day, according to data compiled by the Ministry of the Interior (MOI, ???). Phone calls inquiring about putting children up for adoption have increased by 50 percent year-on-year in August, said CWLF, adding that since 2007, there have been 169 cases of infant abandonment resulting in 28 deaths; furthermore, there have been 17 abandonment cases in the first eight months in this year alone, more than the total number of last year.

Abandonment cases related to teen pregnancies and children born out of wedlock make up 30 percent of all cases, according to the MOI.

Past surveys conducted by the CWLF show that 75 percent of parents who abandon their children do so out of economic reasons. The CWLF said that living expenses have increased significantly this year; parents who are incapable of supporting their children often end up abandoning them.

In an effort to curb this phenomenon, the CWLF has organized charity events aimed at reaching out to the public in an effort to raise awareness, advocate against child abandonment, as well as raise money to help abandoned children.

Adoption rates have not been climbing fast enough to counter the rapidly growing number of abandonment cases. Each child has to wait an average of 510 days for adoption procedures. Last year, 30 percent of adopting parents only accepted infants below the age of one, while 74 percent did not accept children above the age of three. Chances for children over the age of five to be adopted dropped to 5 percent, according to the CWLF. Children with health deficiencies or of foreign backgrounds usually had to wait two to three times the amount of time to find a family willing to adopt them, said the CWLF.