Scandal rocks adoption process

By Rebecca Kwei
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has placed a moratorium (suspension) on all adoptions in Ghana pending investigations into irregularities in the adoption process.
The adoption process, both domestic and international, has been found to be fraught with irregularities and the fact that in some cases the informed consent of parents are not sought before adoption.
Consequently, the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) is not processing any adoption effective April 30, 2013.
Presently, the only adoptions being processed are those filed in court before April 30, 2013. If for any reason an application has to be made during the moratorium, then it has to go to the Director of the DSW.
"We have also seen an increase in inter-country adoptions, in which Ghanaian children are adopted and taken out of the country," the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, said in an interview with The Mirror.
She said the ministry had learnt that there were 17 adoption agencies in Ghana.
However, at a press conference a few months ago, the ministry made it clear that those agencies were illegal and had not been granted any licences to operate.
Only three adoption agencies — Friends of Children, Italy; Bethany Christian Services, USA; and Adoption Centrum, Sweden — have been accepted by the DSW to operate in Ghana.
Those agencies also offer humanitarian services and support children in need and protection.
"We are concerned about the increase in inter-country adoptions in Ghana and would want to ensure that due process is followed. As a ministry, we are seeking to protect children and ensure that those who are given up for adoption are children in need of care and support and that Ghana has an agreed upon criteria of which children should be given up for adoption," Nana Lithur said.
She observed that the criteria for determining which child should be given up for adoption were not rigorously being applied and that could compromise the legal processes and adversely affect some children.
Checks by The Mirror revealed that some foreign countries had seen an increase in the number of Ghanaian children sent there over the past three years.
For instance, in a year about 300 Ghanaian children have been adopted and sent to one foreign country alone.
Nana Lithur said the sad situation was that some parents did not fully understand the legal implications of giving up their children for adoption when they signed documents giving consent for their children to be taken away.
While the moratorium is in place, the ministry will be conducting investigations into the irregularities in the adoption process.
This will lead the ministry to adopt or ratify the Hague Convention, which is the international standard on inter-country adoption.
The ministry will work with the Attorney-General's Department, UNICEF and NGOs working with children to draft a regulation on adoption.
Nana Lithur said the ministry would also create a central authority on adoption to coordinate, monitor and control adoptions in the country.
What pertains presently is that all regional directors of the DSW process adoptions and there is no control mechanism in place.
Nana Lithur said the ministry would hold a press conference soon to inform the public on the modalities and criteria while the moratorium is in place.
She also appealed to anybody who had any information on adoptions in Ghana to direct it to Ms Rachel Appoh, a Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection.