Lucknow, Nov 23 (IANS): More and more girls are now being adopted by childless couples from other countries and officials in Uttar Pradesh attribute this trend to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath's Mission Shakti programme.

According to the government spokesman, orphan girls are being adopted by childless couples from countries like Belgium, Spain, Italy, Canada, France and Malta.

In 2019 alone, 67 children were adopted by foreigners, out of which 45 were girls. Similarly, in 2020, domestic adoption was 131, which included 88 girls.

Foreigners adopted 22 girls out of a total of 35 children adopted from January 1, 2020 to November 22, 2020, an official said.

As many as 456 girls have been adopted by domestic and foreign couples in the past two years.

In 2019, 290 kids were adopted from government children's homes by domestic couples out of which 136 were girls.

"The children are mostly below the age of six, though sometimes, they are around 8-9 years old too. In October alone, a girl was adopted by a US couple. Another girl will be leaving for Spain on November 25. Specialized adoption agency does the follow-up at regular intervals,a¿ said Sangeeta Sharma, a member of the Child Welfare Committee.

The government spokesman said that the Mission Shakti campaign has been intensified with emphasis on children's rights, female foeticide, sexual crimes against girls and also the adoption of the orphaned girl child.

The campaign, which was launched in October, aims at the safety, dignity and empowerment of women and girls.

An official said that the increased adoption of a girl child was a positive sign and reflected a change mindset.