29th May, 2015
Photo: Karen Brown
LONDON, May 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Families in Uganda have been bribed, tricked or coerced into giving up their children to US citizens and other foreigners for adoption, a Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation has found.
Data from the US State Department shows that in 2013/2014 Americans adopted 6,441 children from around the world, hundreds of them from Africa.
Here is the breakdown, according to the US State Department.
TOP 10 AFRICAN COUNTRIES FOR US ADOPTIVE PARENTS:
1. Ethiopia (716)
2. Democratic Republic of Congo (230)
3. Uganda (201)
4. Nigeria (130)
5. Ghana (124)
6. Morocco (43)
7. Sierra Leone (33)
8. South Africa (24)
9. Liberia (16)
10. Zambia (8)
TOP 10 COUNTRIES FOR U.S. ADOPTIVE PARENTS (in fiscal year 2014):
1. China (2,040)
2. Ethiopia (716)
3. Ukraine (521)
4. Haiti (464)
5. South Korea (370)
6. Democratic Republic of Congo (230)
7. Uganda (201)
8. Bulgaria (183)
9. Colombia (172)
10. Philippines (172)