Adoption in Africa

This chapter reviews adoption in Africa. Situating adoption in cultural context, in a region where informal kinship care is preferred to severing legal ties with birth parent(s), the chapter explains that despite oftentimes elaborate legal frameworks, the incidence of adoption is low. A summary of applicable legal issues follows, covering diverse aspects such as eligibility of prospective adoptive parents, whether fostering is a requirement, and whether non-nationals may adopt. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of Kafalah in Islam as an alternative form of child care, and of the recognition of de facto adoption in customary law.