Four out of five children in ‘orphanages’ have parents

A new report from Save the Children reveals that in many countries four out of five children in ‘orphanages’ still have a living parent. In some countries that proportion is even higher.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Children at a religious orphanage on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia. This orphanage is on the government’s list of orphanages to close down. It is accepted that some children do need temporary places of safety but orphanages are not the answer.

In Central and Eastern Europe almost every child in an institution, 98 per cent, has at least one living parent. In Indonesia that figure is at 94 per cent and in Ghana 90 per cent.

This means that millions of children are unnecessarily at risk of the dangers of living in institutions, including rape, exploitation, trafficking, beatings, torture, and psychological harm. Children are also likely to experience the trauma of being separated from parents who, with the right support, could look after them at home.

Eight million children are estimated as currently living in orphanages and other institutions but the actual number may be much higher because many are not registered. Poverty is the main reason children end up in institutions, rather than the death of a parent.

For poor families, putting their children in an institution can be the only way to cope, particularly when shocks like natural disasters, conflict, illness or family breakdown compound the problem of poverty.

Orphanges have become big business

In some countries, orphanages have become big business, as the people who run them are often given financial incentives by governments or well-meaning donors.

Save the Children's report warns that this has contributed to the number of orphanages rising dramatically in recent years, particularly in Africa and Asia. For example, there are 11 times more orphanages in Liberia now than 20 years ago.

This in turn can lead to the active recruitment of children to fill the orphanages by unscrupulous owners who use promises of education and a better life to lure poor families into giving up their children.

Corinna Csaky, Save the Children’s Child Protection Advisor and author of the report, said: “It is a myth that children in orphanages have no parents. Most are there because their parents simply can’t afford to feed, clothe and educate them. Mothers and fathers are forced to make the agonising decision to put their child in an institution in the hope that they will have a better future.

“We have to dispel the misconceptions that have made orphanages the commonsense response for caring for vulnerable children. The reality is that the separation from parents together with the poor quality of care, violence, abuse and exploitation found in many care institutions is causing extreme and lasting harm to children and to society.”

Save the Children’s report highlights that children who grow up in residential care homes are more likely to suffer from stunted growth, behavioural problems and have a lower IQ that those who are raised at home or in a foster family.

Younger children under three years old face the risk of permanent damage to their brains and bodies as the impact that life in an orphanage has on them is irreversible once they reach a certain stage of development. Children with disabilities are at an increased risk of such abuse in institutions.

Paul O’Grady MBE, who is a Save the Children Ambassador, said: “I have worked in children’s homes and I know that kids are best off living with their parents. But children around the world are languishing in orphanages because parents can’t afford to pay for their food, clothes and education.

“It's outrageous that children are separated from their families when they have parents who, given a bit of help, could look after them. I believe that families around the world should be supported to stay together and more needs to be done stop children being put into care unnecessarily.”

Tackling the problem

To tackle the overuse and misuse of residential child care, Save the Children is asking governments and those who work in or fund orphanages instead to channel their resources into projects that support families to look after their children at home or in the community.

The design and delivery of national and local childcare and protection systems must be transformed in many countries to enable families to look after their own children, and to ensure that, where necessary, children have access to better care alternatives.

The charity is also calling for stricter monitoring of institutions and more awareness-raising amongst communities on the importance of family- and community-based care for children.

Find out more

Look at our images on the Guardian taken from two Liberian orphanages, where we estimate that 80% of the children are not truly orphans.

Bookmark this page with: