60 private orphanages operate in Kyrgyzstan

A database of residential institutions in Kyrgyzstan has been prepared. It was presented today at the meeting of the relevant committee of the Parliament.

According to the head of the department for the protection of the family and children of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development Zhanyl Dzhumabaeva, most of the orphanages are located in Chui, Jalal-Abad and Osh regions, as well as in Talas. The purpose of this database is to record every child in this system.

On the whole, there are 63 state, 60 private and 12 children’s religious institutions functioning in the republic.

8,800 children reside in residential care institutions . Only 6 percent of them are orphans, the rest have one or both parents.

Vice Prime Minister Cholpon Sultanbekova noted that the plan for the optimization of residential institutions for 2013–2018, according to which 16 children’s institutions should be optimized, is drawn up. «We are working on the return of children to biological families or arranging them in foster families. In recent years, it has been possible to reduce the number of unwanted children in maternity homes," she said.