Kong Meta and Cristina Maza

 

Cambodia's government closed 56 shelters last year, the majority of them or­phanages, amid a major push to get thousands of children back into homes and out of institutional care after years of criticism, the Ministry of Social Affairs announced yesterday.

 

The closures, announced at the launch of the ministry’s annual report yesterday, represent an eightfold increase from 2015, and 9 percent of the 639 registered shelters operating in the Kingdom last year. Of those, 406 were specifically for accommodating children, the report revealed. The shelters housed 26,187 individuals, nearly two-thirds of whom were underage.

 

“The ministry is very actively reforming orphanages by strengthening the quality of inspections and reducing the number of children in centres,” Minister of Social Affairs Vong Soth said yesterday.

 

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-- © Copyright Phenom Pen Post 16/02

Just great. Child prostitution percentages will get blown out of proportion; actually it's off the scale already. Go figure.