A KwaZulu-Natal woman has been arrested in connection with a new-born baby that was found abandoned in Verulam, north of Durban, the police have confirmed.
The woman gave birth at her workplace on Saturday, August 10 and moments later threw away the infant. Luckily the infant was found alive and is getting appropriate care. The baby was taken to hospital for treatment and the suspect was arrested.
"A case of child abandonment was opened at Verulam police station after a woman allegedly gave birth at a workplace and threw the baby out of the window on 10 August 2019," says Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane.
The arrested suspect appeared in the Verulam Magistrate's Court on August 12, 2019. The case was remanded to August 16, 2019.
READ: Newborns make up 65% of all abandoned children. Here’s how you can help
Many newborn children are left to die, or simply abandoned in dustbins, open fields, public toilets or on train tracks.
According to the National Adoption Coalition of South Africa (NACSA), there are approximately three million orphans in South Africa - 65% of all orphaned children are newborns, while 90% are under a year old.
Child Protection Statistics show that the highest number of orphaned children are in KZN. According to IOL, data from the Department of Social Development (DSD) shared during a presentation in November 2016 shows a total of 174 adoptions took place in the province over a seven year period.
Abandonment is on the rise while adoption is decreasing by as much as 50%, according to Door of Hope, an NGO that saves abandoned babies.
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