Luanda, Nov 16 (Prensa Latina) The National Institute for Children in Angola (INAC, for its acronym in Portuguese) today warned about the increase in child abandonment in the country, largely due to paternity escapes.
In a round table on the subject, the general director of INAC, Paulo Kalesi, reported that in 2020 alone the agency registered more than 135 thousand cases of violence against children, of which some 56,200 (41.64 percent) were linked to non-recognition by parents.
The set of events analyzed included physical and moral assaults, problems in the provision of food, disputes over custody and care, parental negligence, sexual violence, trafficking in minors and instrumentalization for the practice of criminal acts, said the specialist.
From January to September 2021, he indicated, the complaints reception service received 668 thousand 774 calls about alleged acts of violence against children and 36.73 percent had their origin in the escape of paternity.
The refusal of legal recognition by parents continues to be a fundamental problem, considered the expert, who warned about the vulnerability of neglected infants.
No sector of Angolan society is exempt; Among the parents who deny their children there are graduates, technicians, army officers, policemen, teachers, directors and managers, so wide is the range of cases reported to INAC, he stressed.
Kalesi regretted the links between this phenomenon and the deficits associated with children’s physical and intellectual development and access to essential services such as education and health.
mem / mjm
