The video presents a news clip from NTV Kenya reporting on recent changes in Kenyan adoption policy. According to the video, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya recently signed an Executive Order making the Child Welfare Society of Kenya (CWSK) a state agency. This order has been signed in response to the recent privatization of adoption services, which the video says, saw the adoption process turned into a “money-making venture.” Kenya opened up intercountry adoptions in 2002 and, since then, has seen a vast increase in private adoption agencies. Some of these agencies were putting children up for adoption unnecessarily or even illegally, often misleading families, says the Executive Director the Child Welfare Society of Kenya. These private agencies have also operated with minimal government oversight.
This Executive Order, signed by the President, will change the adoption system, putting in place several measures that will see a complete overhaul of the adoption process in Kenya, including more protection of children’s rights, a shift in adoption policy to favor local adoptions, and increased government oversight to ensure that children are leaving the country under proper circumstances. Private agencies, however, are fighting against this new executive order, moving to court to have the CWSK’s preferred status as the overseer of all child welfare services revoked. With this executive order, CWSK would address all concerns related to child trafficking as well as domestic and international adoption.