Polygamy is to blame for the massive number of street children in South Sudan

A senior official in South Sudan National Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare has said polygamy is to blame for the massive number of street children across major towns in the youngest nation.

 Celina Peter the director general in the ministry of gender, child and social welfare, said that many children are on the streets begging because some parents are not responsible for their children.

“The main causes for street children is because some men are marrying many wives without taking care of the children,” said Peter during working visit to Bentiu town of Unity state on Tuesday.

Peter urged parents to be responsible for their children by providing them with education.

“I urge parents to take care of children to stop them from begging in public markets and the state government should impose strong measures to prevent children from going to the streets,” said Peter.

Thousands of homeless children are staying on the streets largely due to y7ears of devastating conflict, chronic poverty and displacement due to communal violence.

Peter also blamed early pregnancies and early child marriages for contributing to the high number of homeless children.

She advised parents and leaders in Unity state to stop early pregnancy and child marriages because under-age people are not responsible enough to take care of children.

More than 2,000 children in Bentiu town, Bentiu internally displaced people’s camp and Rubkona town dropped out of school in 2023, turning to live on the streets.