Save the Children's response to Madonna's potential Malawi adoption

Louise Melville, Save the Children's Protection Adviser said:
Save the Children UK is extremely concerned to hear that anybody is considering internationally adopting children from Malawi. International adoption is now big business across the world. Unscrupulous agencies and orphanages across the world are making vast amounts of money by selling babies, while the children are left vulnerable to trafficking, abuse and exploitation.

Malawi has not signed up to the Hague Convention on International Adoption, the international guidelines set down to ensure being adopted is in the best interests of the child. The vast majority of children in institutions globally are not orphans - they have one or both parents alive, who should be supported to care for them. Only children who have no family members and who have not been able to be adopted in their own country should be eligible for international adoption.

But in a country like Malawi, where this industry is completely unregulated, such essential checks are unlikely to have taken place. If any couple is considering adopting, we urge them to first consider adopting nationally.
Anyone looking abroad must first make sure the country they are adopting from is signed up to the Hague Convention and must use a reputable agency.
Otherwise children will continue to suffer at the hands of what is, often, a ruthless industry.