ASTANA – Around 60,000 children aged 0-17 live in institutions in five Central Asian countries, according to a new policy brief published by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on August 15.
Children in institutions are deprived of the social, emotional and intellectual stimulation that is essential for healthy brain development. Photo by Galina Sorokina/UNICEF Kazakhstan.
The devastating impact of family separations and the institutionalization of children is well known, but an average of 203 children per 100,000 people are estimated to be living in institutions across Central Asia, almost double the global average of 105 per 100,000.
“The proportion of children in institutional care can reflect the strength of a country's child protection system, and a high rate indicates that the system is failing to keep families together,” said Regina de Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
“We know the impact of institutionalization on children is profound and can last a lifetime, which is why we urge further investment in family support services. No child should ever be placed in alternative care because of poverty, disability, behavioral health or because their family can't get the services they need to care for their child at home,” she added.
Children in institutions are isolated from mainstream society and are therefore more vulnerable to violence, neglect and abuse. Children who grow up in institutions are more likely to continue to be excluded from society in the rest of their lives, to suffer from alcohol and drug abuse and to experience violence, arrest and incarceration. The long-term effects are significant, making it more difficult to reunite children who have been institutionalised for long periods with their biological parents or to place them in alternative care with relatives or family, according to the report.
The policy brief also highlights the worrying association between a child's disability and their likelihood of institutionalization. With the exception of Kazakhstan, the proportion of children with disabilities living in institutions increased between 2015 and 2021, a stark example of ingrained societal norms and limited community-based services for children with disabilities.
In the four Central Asian countries where data is available, children with disabilities made up 24 per cent of all children in residential institutions in Kazakhstan in 2021, rising to 87 per cent in Turkmenistan.
UNICEF has developed a number of policy recommendations to facilitate the closure of large institutional settings and support the reintegration of children into their families by 2030. These include implementing effective child care reforms to keep children with their families whenever possible, investing in family support services and social workers, ensuring stronger support for extended families, and protecting children in alternative care from violence, neglect and abuse.
