Abandoned babies in Garoua; a call for concern

The act of abandoning babies has been a frequent practice in Garoua, the North Regional capital of Cameroon.

Just within ten days five babies were abandoned in Garoua.

A glaring example of such a case was a Baby girl who was reported to have been found behind the Government primary school in Garoua, Worst still another baby was picked up strangled to death, and if that wasn’t enough a more recent case was a ten day old baby picked up along the Garoua – Gashiga road.

Most of these abandoned babies are usually taken to the centre of children in distress which is run by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Even though the wellbeing of these children could be guaranteed as they are rushed into this centre, grooming them is obviously a challenge to their caretakers, as more material and financial assistance are needed.

Presently at the child care centre of the Ministry of Social Affairs 12 cases of abandoned children have been registered, with ages ranging from ten days to three years.

As the Regional Delegate of Social Affairs of the Northern Region grapples with the whole phenomenon of abandoned babies, some individuals of the local community decry that men who are the authors of the pregnancy be trapped and punished.

Instead of abandoning the baby others propose that they should be kept in the orphanages since some people are in need of them.

Church ministers in their part propose that a thorough search be made on all pregnant women and their male partners so as to eventually verify on who delivered, when and where the baby is so that the criminals can be trapped out.

The suggestions were made by different stakeholders during a gathering to seek was of grappling with the phenomenon of abandoned babies in Garoua.