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UHRC decries high cases of child neglect in Gulu
Ms Beatrice Adong, a caretaker at St Jude Children’s home in Gulu Town on Tuesday. PHOTO BY TOBBIAS JOLLY OWINY
G ulu District continues to register cases of child neglect, according to records from the child and family protection unit at Gulu Central Police Station. The office registers between five and eight cases every month.
During a fact-finding visit to St Jude Children’s Home in Gulu on Tuesday, officials from the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) found a high number of abandoned toddlers at the facility.
There are more than 80 children at the centre, according to Ms Josephine Ogwetta, the deputy director of the home. “Among them are children who are abandoned and have HIV/Aids, those from captivity and those that are orphaned. Twenty-four are disabled with complications ranging from cerebral palsy, epilepsy and multiple disability,” Ms Ogwetta said.
The UHRC attributed the high rate of child neglect to polygamy, cultural and religious beliefs, alcoholism, domestic violence, poverty and unemployment, among others.
“It is very common for a mother to throw away a child under her care. This is one of the common forms of human rights abuse that the commission is receiving almost on a daily basis, which is a negative picture of our population,” Mr Nicholas Ogwang, the district human rights desk officer, said.
Ms Margaret Ejang, the secretary of the UHRC, condemned the vice, saying it deprives a child of his or her entitlement to parental care and right to grow well.
“You will always hear that a child has been found abandoned and picked up by police or another one was retrieved from a toilet or another was dumped at the gate,” she said.
Ms Ejang urged government to ensure that more child care homes are established to handle the cases, adding that the problem is widespread.
“We are concerned because each life is very important because they are citizens of the country. Government has to put up specific efforts by providing the necessary facilities for such children so that they can be catered for while they grow up,” she said.
Ms Ogwetta said the children are treated at Lacor Hospital against several ailments.
“The primary thing is to treat them first and ascertain their medical conditions to ease management and care for them before they are assigned to caretakers,” she said.
