THE SIGNAFICANCE OF MALAWI IN CHILD TRAFFICKING

Like most African countries, Malawi has a lot of children. Close to 65% of the population is youth. Their fertility rate is one of the highest in the world. An average family has six children.

Unlike most African countries, Malawi does not have registration for its adult citizens, much less for its children. In a world where child trafficking and all kinds of abuse happen, this is a situation with serious consequences for children. The (((good news))) is that attempts are being made with the help of Plan International and (((UNICEF))).

Malawi has had means of registering births, deaths, marriages, etc. The problem is not so much the lack of legislation and resources because these services are available at every district commissioner’s office. Yet most Malawians are unaware of this.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A single phone call prompted Madonna to begin charity work in Malawi and it was while making a documentary on the African country’s 1 million orphans that she found a baby she decided to adopt.

In the documentary, Madonna says David’s mother had died in childbirth, three of his siblings had died and no one knew the whereabouts of his father. When she returned to the orphanage three months after first seeing him, Madonna said the baby “had pneumonia, malaria and God knows what else” with no medicine to treat him. “What was I prepared to do?” she asks in the film. “If I was challenging other people to open up their minds and their hearts then I had to stand at the front of the line. I decided to try and adopt him. The rest is history.”

There is controversy behind that history. Critics accused the government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi. David’s father came forward, saying he had only placed the child in the orphanage temporarily, but he has since given approval for the adoption.

Among those involved is former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu.

Like ex-president Mandela, Tutu is also a knight of Malta.

What are less known is the fact that Malawi also serves as the most central and main hub for sex/child trafficking in Southern Africa.

https: //www.reuters.com/article/us-tribeca-madonna/madonna-shines-light-on-malawi-with-documentary-idUSN2436133820080424

https: //www.anglicancommunion.org/media/55997/count_every_child.pdf