The Buliisa District Probation Office says it has registered the record high cases of child neglect putting the lives of children hanging in balance.
The District Senior Probation Officer, Ms Stella Katusabe, revealed this during a coordination meeting on Child Protection and Case Management with different stakeholders organised by World Vision in Biiso town recently.
She said that the office registered 125 cases last year (2022), and so far 133 cases have been registered this year.
“This is a surge because before reaching half a year, the cases are already higher than the entire statistics of last year,” she said.
Ms Katusabe partly attributed the problem to the increasing cases of domestic violence adding that there could be many more cases going unreported.
Ms Bona Atuhairwe, the Regional Child Protection Officer at World Vision, challenged parents and leaders to protect and nurture children for better posterity.
She highlighted the need to keep a close eye on children with disabilities.
The Buliisa District Community Development Officer, Mr Bernard Barugahara, asserted that the increasing child neglect in the district is mostly triggered by domestic violence that is worse in most homes.
He called upon stakeholders to intensify programmes of sensitising communities about the dangers associated with domestic violence and how it can be avoided for the better future of families and children in particular.
According to him, child neglect has resulted in the increasing school dropouts and child labour in the district.
This report was compiled by Pascal Onega of Kazi-njema’s partner radio – Biiso FM.
