Nearly 60,000 children across Central Asia are growing up in residential care facilities, separated from their families. UNICEF reports.
According to it, an estimated 203 children for every 100,000 children live in residential care across Central Asia — almost double the global average of 105 per 100,000.
In all countries in Central Asia except for Kazakhstan, the share of children with disabilities in residential care increased between 2015 and 2021, demonstrating deep-rooted social norms and limited community-based services for children with disabilities.
«Children in institutions are deprived of the social, emotional and intellectual stimulation that is critical for the healthy development of their brains. Shut away from mainstream society, children in institutions are vulnerable to violence, neglect and abuse,» the statement says.
To solve the problem, UNICEF proposes seven policy recommendations:
- Implementation of effective childcare reforms to keep children with their families where possible, including planning for the closure of large-scale institutions and developing a comprehensive continuum of child and family support and protection services;
- Investment in a range of child and family support services, including statutory family support services, and a strong social service workforce, for the early identification of, and intervention in, situations when children are at risk of separation;
- Securing alternative care that is family based including stronger support for extended family members who care for children and strategies to keep siblings together where possible;
- Protecting children who are already in alternative care against violence, neglect and abuse through robust safeguarding policies and practices;
- Investing in more and better data on children who are at risk of family separation, in alternative care or who have left care;
- Raising public awareness of the benefits of keeping families together and the urgent need to prioritize family-based care;
- Ensuring that children have a voice in the decisions that affect them and are consulted when new policies and practices are developed to meet their needs and rights.
