20 years on from the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, EveryChild warns there are at least 24 million children growing up without a parent and in poor countries their number is growing rapidly. Today we are launching a new report, Missing:Children without parental care in international development policy, warning that failure to keep children in families, out of residential institutions and off the streets, will be another barrier to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and condemn a generation of children to a life of abuse and neglect without the support and protection of parents.

‘Without adult protection children are more likely to die at an early age, are at greater risk of malnutrition, violence and exploitation and more likely to miss out on school. Despite this, preventing the loss of parental care is disgracefully absent from international development and aid policies. We urgently need governments, charities and donors to cease funding the unregulated expansion of children’s homes in poor countries and instead support families to stay together and find a family for every child who needs one.’

Research shows the number of children growing up without parental care is growing most rapidly in less developed countries. The HIV and AIDS pandemic has doubled the number of orphans in sub-Saharan Africa since 1990. The global recession is enhancing factors such as poverty and lack of access to education in many parts of Africa and Asia. In parts of Southern Africa up to 34% of children are growing up without parental care compared to 1.8% in the UK.
EveryChild is calling on the UK government to mainstream children without parental care in UK international development policy and devote more resources to reducing the number of children without parental care in developing countries.