22 October 2006
JOHANNESBURG - Madonna’s bid to adopt a Malawian baby may have raised some hackles about foreign adoptions but the increasing number of African orphans underscores a pressing need to find suitable new parents.
The scourge of AIDS and the civil wars that continue to bedevil the world’s poorest continent means that the number of orphans, which currently stands at 43 million, is bound to mushroom.
United Nations estimates forecast that 18 million African children will have lost at least one parent by the end of the decade. And while orphans have traditionally been absorbed by their relatives, the AIDS pandemic means many uncles and aunts are not in a position to take over as before....
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