Supporting safe deinstitutionalisation in Nepal

In 2018, ACCI launched the Kinnected program in Nepal, based on the successful Kinnected Myanmar model. Initial Kinnected workshops, held by ACCI, led to the formation of an advocacy group made up of local, mostly faith-based, organisations. Called Keeping Families Together (KFT), the group has proven to be very strategic and active – meeting regularly and outworking a range of activities.

Recently, KFT was asked by the government of Nepal to create reintegration guidelines and other deinstitutionalisation strategies for Nepal’s registered care institutions. Kinnected Program Manager Hannah Won says there are more than 500 such homes registered in Nepal, housing over 15,000 children. The primary reason for children being placed into these homes is access to education, however the country is also known for orphanage trafficking.

Hannah says while the government has a solid policy framework in place for alternative care, it lacks implementation guidelines. This results in rushed reintegration or haphazard reunifications of children – often with harmful consequences. The new guidelines will “… inform and create a roadmap for national deinstitutionalisation,” Hannah says. “Clear designations of various duty bearers at all levels of government will ensure not only that everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities but that those who fail to perform their duties can be held accountable.”

The KFT group is currently working, with the help of Kinnected Nepal, to identify where the current gaps are in Nepal’s care system. KFT is also developing strategies for engagement and advocacy with the stakeholders who can fill those gaps. “For example, an unskilled government social workforce that is mandated with reintegration can be matched with social workers of experienced NGOs so that those skills can be transferred to the duty bearers to outwork,” Hannah says.

In addition to providing value for the government of Nepal, the project is helping KFT members – which are mostly NGOS – see where they can have the most impact in supporting safe and effective deinstitutionalisation in Nepal. “Any progress made with government, where there is a clear path for deinstitutionalisation and the government is able and willing to enforce transition/closures, the easier it will be for KFT members to push transition forward with individual institutions,” Hannah says.

“Lack of government enforcement, intervention, accountability and resource are major obstacles to widespread deinstitutionalisation in most countries in the region,” Hannah adds. “Nepal has already shown strong political will and if KFT is able to guide them in the right direction, it could have massive impacts for all children currently in care across the country.”