Johannesburg - Since 2008 there had been no real increase in adoptions to help the country's estimated two million orphans, Beeld reported on Friday.
National Adoption Coalition spokeswoman Pam Wilson said on Thursday that South Africa faced an adoption crisis.
She was speaking at the Princess Alice Home in Westcliff, Johannesburg, at the start of a national advertising campaign, on the eve of Child Protection Week (May 27 to June 2).
The campaign was intended to renew awareness of adoption and encourage people to become parents to one of the growing number of orphans in the country. She said only about 2000 children were adopted annually.
“There is a great need for adoptive parents and it is just getting bigger and bigger. We have to take drastic steps to encourage people to help our nation's children and take care of them,” Wilson said.
According to a report from the University of Cape Town's actuarial research unit the country would have five million orphans by 2015. The report cited two of the main reasons for this as teenage pregnancy and parental deaths from HIV and Aids. - Sapa