Ethiopia’s government bans foreign adoptions

Ethiopian Parliament has voted a new law banning the adoption of orphans and abandoned children to foreigners.
Corriere Roberto Rabattoni, president of the Aid Center for Ethiopia, one of the 7 accredited Italian institutions, said the decision was surprising and baffling. Since 1990, Italians have adopted 2,400 Ethiopian children. The Parliament tried to pass the law in the past without success. It is not clear what has changed this time, Corriere said.
At least a hundred Italian families who have started adoption process are now stranded.
Charges of adoption misconduct have come from the outside the country also. Denmark and other Western countries have also suspended adoptions from Ethiopia, out of concern over corruption within the inter-country adoption system.
Ethiopia ranked sixth for international adoptions with 183 completed that year, behind China, Ukraine, South Korea, Bulgaria and India, according to a 2016 State Department report.