According to a ministry official, the joint-secretary responsible for looking after adoptions, Prakash Adhikari, left for the United States three weeks ago and is yet to return. Similarly, joint-secretary Ratna Kaji Bajracharya, who was deputed to shoulder Adhikari’s responsibilities in his absence, is currently in Pokhara. Furthermore, the new secretary recently employed by the ministry, Brinda Hada, is still trying to understand the issues involved.
To top it off, there is no separate minister allocated to the ministry. Instead, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal holds the ministerial portfolio.
Two years have passed since the government suspended inter-country adoption after reports of gross irregularities in the adoption industry.
In October, then secretary Punya Prasad Neupane announced a list of 58 western child-placing agencies considered eligible to facilitate the process of inter-country adoption of Nepali children. The aforementioned agencies are based in the US, Italy, Spain, Canada, France, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Germany.
The Ministry also finalized a list of 38 eligible child-placing agencies within Nepal, introducing a new set of regulations for inter-country adoption.
But adoption has still not resumed.
An official at Nepal Children’s Organization said around 400 Nepali children were adopted by foster parents in the west annually prior to the suspension.
The organization alone was recommending 60 adoption applications every year.
bikash@myrepublica.com
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