Yanukovych: Ukraine should conduct policies aimed at increasing adoption of children by Ukrainians

12:27

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that it is necessary to conduct state policies aimed at increasing the adoption of children by Ukrainian citizens.

"We must do everything to ensure that all children deprived of parental care, regardless of their age and health, are adopted by Ukrainian citizens and stay in a [family] home," he said in Kyiv on Thursday at a nationwide council on the protection of children's rights.

Yanukovych noted that the number of children adopted by Ukrainians had been gradually falling over the past two years.

"We need to improve this work and overcome stereotypes in a sensitive area like adoption, better inform Ukrainian citizens and actively involve the media in this noble cause," he said.

He also said that such projects as "Children Search Service," "This Child Needs a Family" and the national portal sirotstvu.net were being successfully implemented in Ukraine.