Minister encourages the public to adopt

By Khanyisa Tabata
01 September 2009

Over the past years we have seen many Hollywood stars coming and going to foreign countries taking children that have been orphaned by AIDS or some kind of a disease. Africa has been the continent that has been affected by these diseases.

Minister of Social Development Edna Molewa has appealed to the public to consider adopting children because the country is facing an increase in number of orphans.

KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape and Gauteng have the largest number of vulnerable children and with an estimated 1.5 millions orphans in South Africa the number is expected to reach two million by 2010.

Molewa said since the economic downturn, many have reported dramatic increases in cases of child abandonment as many families battle to cope with the majority of children become vulnerable to poverty.


Molewa said adoption was a way of providing stability, long term family relationships and sense of belonging to a vulnerable child.

Minister Molewa noted that due to lengthy court procedures and the general lack of information on the adoption, there had been an increase in the number of children in foster care while there were less children being adopted.

By July 2009, a total of 511 479 children were in foster care while 80 000 were in adoption.


The department will further make communities aware of adoption services and also contribute towards the reduction of the number of children in foster care and child and youth care centers.