Cash crunch renders ministry toothless
2010-05-10
The Himalayan Times:
Himalayan News Service
KATHMANDU: Hard hit by finance crunch, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) has been unable to monitor cases of inter-country adoption for the last two years.
Sher Jung Karki, under-secretary at MoWCSW, said the ministry is in no position to monitor cases of inter-country adoption, though the ministry itself introduced the provision.
According to the provision on inter-country adoption 2008, the fee amount paid shall be deposited in the Government of Nepal’s account. The Finance Ministry will then release a sum of money equal to the amount collected in one year to the MoWCSW account. This money will be spent on welfare and protection of orphaned children, monitoring of listed foreign organisations or agencies, child welfare home, orphanage or children’s organisation and other work determined by the ministry.
He informed that the ministry was working with 80 foreign agencies and 44 domestic agencies. “We have prioritised monitoring of adoption and will resume it within two months,” said the under-secretary adding that the ministry has also been receiving reports of abuse of adopted children in foreign countries. He said a list of countries to be monitored was being prepared.
“Inter-country adoption applications have come in for 534 children this year, but there are only 400 children available” said Karki informing that around 40 children had been handed over till date.
Ethics, Transparency, Support~ What All Adoptions Deserve.