14 children placed with foster families in 2025

Fourteen children under state care were placed with foster families in 2025, while 22 children were reunited with their families, according to figures released by the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

The figures were presented on Tuesday during a meeting between the ministry and Parliament's Human Rights Committee, where officials shared the ministry's annual report for 2025.

The ministry is implementing a programme aimed at reducing the number of children living in state-run care facilities by placing them with foster families or families willing to assume responsibility for their care.

The initiative seeks to ensure that children under state protection can grow up in a family environment rather than remain in institutional care.

According to the ministry, members of the public have expressed interest in becoming foster carers under the programme.

The ministry is also working to identify families willing to provide care for elderly people under state protection.

Figures presented to the parliamentary committee show that 14 children who had been placed under state care for various reasons were provided with family-based care through the fostering programme by the end of 2025.

In addition, 22 children were reunited with their families following efforts undertaken by the ministry in coordination with their relatives.

The report also showed that 18 children were newly admitted to state-run care facilities during the year, while 37 children received protection under state care.

A further 33 children were transferred to Amaan Hiya facilities established on different islands.

The ministry said its objective was to ensure that children and other individuals requiring state protection could be placed in a family environment as soon as circumstances permitted.

Beyond foster care and family reunification, the annual report provided figures on child protection and abuse cases reported to the ministry.

More than 1,800 cases involving children under the age of 18 were reported by the end of 2025.

The figures included 961 cases involving abuse or harm against girls and 904 cases involving boys.

The ministry also recorded 711 cases involving domestic violence, gender-based violence, and abuse affecting elderly people and persons with disabilities.

Of these, 548 cases involved abuse or harm against women aged over 18, while 163 cases involved men in the same age group.

The figures highlight the range of child protection and social welfare cases handled by the ministry during 2025, alongside its efforts to move children from institutional care into family-based arrangements.