Children Belong in Loving Families

As Uganda joined the world in celebrating World Adoption Day on November 9 2024, we are reminded of the thousands of orphaned children waiting for a family to call their own. Despite growing awareness and advocacy around adoption, a harsh reality persists: adoption in Uganda remains tangled in bureaucratic and legal red tape, high costs, and public misconceptions that deter many local families from stepping forward. To address the silent crisis of 2.5 million children lacking parental care, we must embrace adoption as a local solution and demand a streamlined process that prioritizes children.

With such a high number of children lacking parental care and 50,000 classified as orphans, only 1% of children in need of families find a permanent home through adoption each year. Our country is facing a family crisis—not from a lack of love or willingness, but due to the sheer difficulty and cost of navigating Uganda’s adoption system. Even with well-meaning legislation like the Children Act, barriers persist. Corruption, inconsistent practices, and painfully slow legal processes make adoption a formidable journey for most Ugandans, deterring even the most committed families.

The Adoptive Parents Initiative (API), a collective of Ugandan adoptive parents, has been pushing for a streamlined adoption process and greater awareness around adoption. In March, API held an Adoption Conference in partnership with the Uganda Child Rights NGO Network, bringing together adoptive families, government officials, judicial officers, and child welfare advocates and caregivers and many other stakeholders. This gathering highlighted both the challenges and hope within Uganda’s adoption landscape. Parents shared stories of their long and costly journeys, while child welfare experts recommended reforms for greater transparency and efficiency. By supporting a streamlines and efficient legal local adoption and kinship care process, we can ensure Uganda’s children find loving homes and with full legal protection under the law.

Over 15,000 children currently live in institutional care, and this figure reflects a deep need for family-based solutions. Research shows that children raised in family settings—through adoption or kinship care—experience better emotional, social, and academic outcomes than those in institutions. Kinship care and local adoption not only provide a sense of belonging but also allow children to grow up within their own culture, language, and heritage, essential for their well-being.

Barriers to Adoption in Uganda

Corruption inflates costs and prolongs timelines, making adoption and kinship care challenging to pursue. Families ready to open their homes are discouraged by additional fees and legal delays, leaving children in prolonged uncertainty.

Bureaucratic hurdles, high legal costs, a limited number of probation officers, and lengthy waiting periods make adoption seem unattainable for many Ugandans. When a child cannot find an adoptive family, they often enter institutional care, where they face numerous challenges upon release at age eighteen. For instance, tasks like obtaining a national identity number or passport—requiring parental, tribal, and geographical details—can be both frustrating and traumatic for those who lack family support.

Moreover, there is limited aftercare for young adults leaving institutional care. On November 9, as we celebrated World Adoption Day, testimonies from those who had emerged from institutional care moved many to tears. From mental health struggles to a lack of identity, the trauma faced by thousands of children in post-institutional care requires urgent attention.

Cultural beliefs also frame adoption as “second best” to biological parenting, deterring families from considering it. Even when children are adopted, issues around inheritance can create stigma, often leaving them disenfranchised.

I believe every Ugandan child deserves the opportunity to grow up within their cultural and family heritage. Kinship care—where extended family members or close friends step in to care for a child—offers stability and connection. Research shows that children in kinship care retain strong cultural and familial bonds, resulting in better psychological and social outcomes.

When Ugandan families adopt Ugandan children, they provide not only love but also legal protection that secures the child’s future within the family and a culturally relevant context. Legal adoption ensures that both the child’s and parents’ rights are respected and protected under Ugandan law. This stability is critical, particularly in a country where a high number of children are classified as orphans due to factors like HIV/AIDS, poverty, and historical conflict.

While international adoption can provide homes for children without local options, it should be a last resort. Foreign adoption often disconnects children from their cultural roots, language, and heritage, leading to identity challenges. It also can be difficult to trace the welfare of the adopted child a fact made more concerning with the risks of child slavery and trafficking. Our focus should be on supporting Ugandan families and making local adoption and kinship care accessible, so children can grow up in environments that honor their background.

A Call for Change

We urge the Ugandan government to simplify and streamline the adoption process. By cutting bureaucratic red tape, eliminating unnecessary legal costs, and increasing the number of probation officers involved in the adoption process, we can make legal adoption and kinship care a reality for more Ugandan families and the children who need them.

By challenging outdated stigmas and misconceptions and supporting families who choose adoption or kinship care, we can create a culture where every child has a chance to grow up in a loving home here in Uganda. With 67% of Uganda’s population living in rural areas, kinship care and local adoption allow children to remain connected to their roots while growing up in stable, supportive environments.

As we commemorate World Adoption Day, let us celebrate adoption and kinship care as the paths that can give every Ugandan child the love and security they need. Legal adoption isn’t just paperwork—it’s a bridge to a child’s secure future, safeguarding their rights and rooting them in a loving, lawful home. Let’s embrace this rallying call for change, committing to kinship care and local legal adoption as Uganda’s primary solutions to our family crisis. Together, we can build a Uganda where every child finds love, stability, and belonging within their own community and has the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to their country. 

The author, Andrew Rugasira, is chair Adoptive Parents Initiative