The Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Services has refuted reports of the pregnancy of a child under state care.

The ministry took to Twitter on Wednesday, writing that the reports of the pregnancy of a 13-year-old disabled child at the children’s shelter are entirely false and condemned the circulation of false reports.

Further, the ministry cited the Maldives Police Service (MPS) having said that no such cases have been reported to them either.

Some media reported that the government held an emergency meeting over the issue as well.

Gender Ministry condemned said reports and accusations that soil the reputation of children under state care, pushing the public to refrain from spreading false news.

While similar issues surface from time to time, a few individuals believe that the ministry is slow in taking action to bring an end to issues relating to children. Some of the cases include children under state care being abused by employees at shelters, which were forwarded to the gender committee of the People’s Majlis for investigation as well.