‘Social babies’ abandoned at state hospital

Nando* is a beautiful boy, but it is clear that care and love have not featured heavily in his short life. He bites the other children in the Katutura State Hospital ward where a social worker left him and cries in the evenings for his mommy.

Palesa* is kept in the respiratory unit and is also a 'social baby' - babies who are placed at the hospital by government social workers until a safe home or suitable foster care can be found for them. Palesa's development is delayed and she has allegedly been at the hospital for a year.

According to a source who also sent photos of the infants to Namibia Media Holdings, some of the other 'social babies' have already been at the hospital for nine months. Some of the photos include the dirty clothes the babies have reportedly been wearing for four days and longer.

"Their beds are covered with food and dirt. You can hardly be near the babies because they smell so bad from the urine," the source said.

According to them, the babies "do not belong" in the hospital, "because they do not get treatment, but the social workers just leave them here. They need love and someone who cares, but no one does".

Because staff members rotate often, the babies "don't have one person in their lives who is always there for them", the source said.

'Abandoned'

Health ministry executive director Ben Nangombe said the ministry is aware of the babies being 'abandoned' at the Katutura State Hospital.

Currently, eight children between the ages of two months and two years have been placed at the hospital for their protection. Three were placed there in May and September last year respectively, and five in February this year.

According to Nangombe, they are placed at the hospital due to pending court orders under the Child Care and Protection Act.

There is an increasing need for the placement of abused, neglected and rejected children in Namibia, he said.

"The law states that any person may report suspected neglect and abuse... Social workers and the police are responsible for immediate action should there be reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed or is about to be committed. The children are therefore admitted for their protection," Nangombe explained.

Temporary measure

"When children are placed in the wards [at the Katutura State Hospital], it is after long consideration of factors and consequences and the best interests of the child," the executive director said.

He added that the children are placed in separate rooms away from sick children and "hardly come into contact with the other sick children".

Placement at the hospital is only a temporary measure until investigations by social workers are completed, he said.

Nangombe acknowledged that the rising need for protective services for children suspected of being neglected or abused has placed a huge burden on government. "The available shelters are always full, and the search for a suitable home for foster care leads to long processes," he said.

Most of the babies left at the hospital have legal guardians and/or parents.

However, some have been removed from the care of the very people meant to take care of them.

*Not their real names

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