Shenzhen mulls ‘safe haven’ for abandoned babies
Print Edition
Starting next year, Shenzhen City in south China’s Guangdong Province plans to introduce a “safe haven” for abandoned children in response to a slew of cases in which infants have died after being discarded in unsafe public spots such as litter bins, the local welfare center announced.
In fact, Shijiazhuang City in northern Hebei Province was the first in China to launch such a program. On Children’s Day in 2011, the Shijiazhuang Welfare Center set up a “safe haven” station outside its gate.
Since then, the program has been a subject of much debate, with some arguing that the move has actually encouraged people to cast off their babies.
Tang Rongsheng, director of the Shenzhen Welfare Center, said the number of deserted babies has remained stable in Shijiazhuang since June 2011. Instead, infant mortality has dramatically decreased. Further, ill and disabled children have received timely treatment.
“Some people claim we are conniving in the act of throwing away babies. But the facts are that many babies are either abandoned in litter bins or thrown away and freeze to death outside hospitals,” he told Yangcheng Evening News.
“We can’t stop people from abandoning babies, but we can increase their chances of survival,” he insisted.
It is reported that the Shenzhen Welfare Center had received more than 90 abandoned infants by the end of October. Most were sent by police, the newspaper reported.
The “safe haven” station is set to be built inside the room where security guards stay at the gate of the center, Tang told Southern Metropolis Daily.
The air-conditioned room will be equipped with incubators, cradles and other facilities to keep moderate temperatures and humidity. Patterns like stars, sunflowers and balloons will decorate the walls, it reported.
Visitors can press a button when they bring their babies and local police and workers will come in a few minutes to carry the infants to the welfare center, Tang revealed.
However, no video cameras will be placed in order to protect the visitors’ privacy. Therefore, they can feel safe and the chances of abandoning babies in unsafe public areas will be less, the newspaper reported.
The total cost for opening the center is estimated to reach 150,000 yuan (US$24,615), Yangcheng Evening News reported while Tang told Southern Metropolis Daily that they may call for social donations.
Local financial and civil affairs authorities are still examining the program, he said, adding that if the first “safe haven” gets the nod, they may consider having more such havens near banks and children’s hospitals.
In April, Zhan Chengfu, a senior official with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, publicly called for expanding the pilot “safe haven” program in Shijiazhuang to other major cities to ensure abandoned children survive.
Local media reported that 26 abandoned infants had been found in the Shijiazhuang “safe haven” station by January.
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