Namibia: Baby Dumping a Growing Social Problem in Country

IN April 2008, employees at Gammams Water Care Works in Windhoek estimated that they uncover a median of 13 our bodies of new child infants every month in human waste flushed down bogs. These damning statistics have been tabled in the report on the movement of child dumping in Namibia in the Nationwide Meeting on Tuesday. By way of the findings of this report, the issue of child dumping “is a vital one”. Concealment of delivery instances reported in the nation rose by about 283 per cent from 2003 to 2007 – from 6 to 23 reported instances.

Throughout 2004, 13 instances have been reported, whereas 17 and 15 instances have been delivered to the Police’s consideration in 2005 and 2006 respectively. The report, tabled by Elia Kaiyamo, was compiled by the parliamentary standing committee on human sources, social and group growth. Varied stakeholders, together with the Authorized Help Centre (LAC), the Ladies and Baby Safety Unit of the Police, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Baby Welfare, Unicef and Ladies Solidarity met twice throughout 2009 to deliberate on the way to deal with the issue.

One of many obstacles that the committee recognized is that it’s troublesome to estimate the true extent of infanticide and child dumping in Namibia, as such instances typically go unreported. “Nonetheless, Police statistics and data counsel that the issue is a vital one. An investigation of case legislation on infanticide signifies that costs of murdering a new child toddler are normally mixed with costs of concealment of delivery,” the report states. It was additional established that the explanations for child dumping can’t be attributed to a single issue.

Causes that have been cited embrace custom, as some younger ladies concern rejection by their dad and mom or the group if they’re discovered to have had a child exterior marriage; rejection by a associate and the accompanying financial vulnerability. Moreover, the committee discovered, a intercourse employee who should take care of and breastfeed an toddler will be unable to hold on working instantly and would possibly choose to dump her child. A lack of expertise concerning the prospects of foster care and adoption, HIV-AIDS and a concern of getting to go away faculty may also be incentives for child dumping.

The committee really useful that steps “to stop undesirable and teenage pregnancies” ought to be inspired. Moreover, boys and males should be taught “to take higher duty for his or her youngsters”, and group safety techniques ought to be strengthened and “non-judgemental Help” offered to pregnant ladies. The committee additionally prompt a revision of the coverage on being pregnant amongst schoolgirls and taking “a supportive strategy as an alternative of a punitive one in order that schoolgirl moms and dads get Help to finish their research and thus don’t have any motivation to try to conceal their pregnancies”