1,300 children died in adoption homes in 5 years
1,300 children died in adoption homes in 5 years
NEW DELHI: The government informed Parliament on Friday that a total number of 1,265 children have been reported to have died in the specialised
adoption agencies across states between April 2014 to January 31, 2019. These institutions cater to children in the age group of 0-6 years.
2/9/2019 1,300 children died in adoption homes in 5 years | India News - Times of India
Women and child development minister of state Virendra Kumar in a reply to a written question in Lok Sabha on Friday shared that the highest number of
deaths over these five years have been reported from Maharashtra (172), followed by Uttar Pradesh (170) and Bihar (134).
As per the data shared by the government in response to a question from Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, there are 484 SAAs across states registered with the government as of now and 26,464 children have been enrolled between April 2014 to January 31, 2019.
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While the scope of the Parliament reply does not cover details like age of children, who died, and the reasons for death, sources in the Central Adoption
Resource Authority working closely with SAAs said that one of the reasons is the state in which the babies are found abandoned. Babies are left to die and
are recovered with severe injures or sickness and this can be a trigger for death, an official said.
However, that is not the only reason, neglect and lack of adequate medical facilities in certain SAAs in some states is also a serious concern that is
bothering the CARA top brass, sources said.
For instance, in December, CARA wrote to Karnataka’s women and child development department over high mortality rate and the pitiable state of
children in a SAA and a hospital catering to children with infections and illness. CARA’s advisory committee members who visited the home have stated in
their report that five children have died in the institution between March to November in 2018. CARA has asked the state to inquire into the matter and
take action. Similar concerns have cropped up in the past in Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, sources said.
When contacted, CARA CEO Deepak Kumar told TOI that there were homes that were severely lacking in medical facilities and this needs urgent
attention of the states. “The district magistrate along with the Child Welfare Committees and the district child protection units have the biggest role to
monitor the functioning of SSAs. Inspections show that monitoring is lacking and SAAs are not putting necessary funds into medical care,” Kumar said.