UNICEF has welcomed the Sri Lankan Cabinet’s recent approval of the Global Charter for Child Care Reforms, calling it a landmark decision that strengthens child protection and accelerates the country’s existing Alternative Care Policy.
In a statement, the UN agency said partnership with the government over recent years had supported the development of the National Alternative Care Policy, a national census of residential care institutions and provincial action plans. The combined effort had produced a 30% reduction in the number of children in institutional care since 2018, with more than 6,000 children prevented from entering institutions and around 2,000 reunified with their families over the past five years.
UNICEF noted, however, that more than 8,000 children in Sri Lanka still grow up in residential care — the majority with at least one living parent. Their placements often reflect poverty, violence, abuse, stigma or gaps in community-based services rather than orphanhood, the agency said. The Global Charter’s principles — preventing unnecessary family separation, prioritising family-based care and progressively moving away from institutionalisation — align with the existing reform direction.
While welcoming the policy adoption, UNICEF emphasised that “the real difference lies in financing and implementation” — strengthening case-management systems, expanding family-support services and ensuring every child can grow up in a safe and supportive family environment. The agency said it would continue to support government, provincial authorities and civil-society partners in translating the commitment into lasting change.
The endorsement complements other recent child- and family-policy moves on the cabinet agenda, including a new model government daycare centre at the Govijana Mandiraya in Battaramulla and the Education Ministry’s preschool reform package targeted for 2027.
Source: Newswire.
