HeyMedia Get Ignited
Related Articles
SIXTEEN babies have been abandoned at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) by their mothers in the last two years, the institution has revealed.
According to UTH New Born Section social worker Mutipani Mubita the six children were dumped at the institution in 2020 while eight were abandoned there in 2021 and two this year.
Mubita explained that the infants are abandoned in various parts of Lusaka and end up and the UTH while others are left soon after delivery by their mothers who in most cases give false contact details.
However, Mubita says she is happy that the cases of abandoning children has drastically reduced this year revealing that the institution has only recorded one incident since January.
Mubita explained that the abandoned babies which are usually healthy end up in different orphanage centres.
Further, Mubita said inability to care of the children and negligence are the leading reasons of abandoning infants.
She named Kamwala South as one of the areas rife with abandoning of children.
She said the social welfare department has been senstising the public on the dangers of child dumping.
“We have been sensisitisng the potential mothers not to dump babies, letting them know that it’s a crime and they can be jailed and I hope we can get to zero cases”, she said.
She appealed to would-be mothers not think of dumping their children because it was inhumane instead take the children to social welfare if they needed help.
By Grace Chibawa
Kalemba May 16, 2022
