By Sandra Birungi

Child sacrifice, according to an international research organization, is on the increase with at least one child killed every week.

Children sacrificed are offered for ritual purposes. The report was compiled by Humane Africa called “child sacrifice and the mutilation of children in Uganda”.

The report said there were 35 cases of child mutilation between June and September 2012. The Humane Africa director, Mr. Simon Fellows said both government and civil society had to acknowledge the problem and address it. “The weekly mutilations confirmed with witness accounts, make it possible to establish a baseline for incidents relating to child mutilation and sacrifice in Uganda,” the report reads in part.

It goes ahead and highlights cases of mothers who have been attacked and their fetus removed and mutilated. Researchers documented first-hand accounts of 140 witness across the country, 77 of the incidents where body parts, blood, or tissue were removed for harmful practices.

The most sought after body parts were the tongue, male and female genitalia, blood, head, hair, heart, fingers, and hands among others.

According to the report,child sacrifice has been attributed to high a demand from communities where people believe that when traditional medicine contains body parts, it becomes stronger.