The Council of Ministers in Tonj state has approved over 22 million pounds for construction of an orphanage.

The state minister of information, James Ayek, said the number of street children is growing there.

He said that some children have lost parents to the 5-year conflict while others run away from their homes due to poor parental care.

This, he said, has become a problem to the state government.

“It carries the plans of over 12m Pounds for plan activities and over 9m Pounds for paying expenses of the human resource that will be doing the activities of the ministry. The overall required budget is to implement the strategic plan is over 22, 000, 0000 Pounds,” said Mr Ayek.

He stated that the state cabinet has proposed that the children’s home be built at an area called Wunalak near Tonj town.

In 2014, humanitarian organizations reported that the number of street children in was increasing in major towns across the country due to the conflict and the resultant economic crisis.

In Juba alone, they noted an increase from 1,000 to 3,000 in just 1 year.