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Activities

Putting children first


Médecins du Monde is the only medical humanitarian association in France to have integrated adoption into its founding statutes and created a project in charge of international adoption. The status of approved organisation for adoption (AOA) was obtained in 1988. The aim is to stay true to our aim of supporting the most vulnerable people, therefore children, who are the first to suffer in the event of crises or conflicts, and to defend their basic rights: right to a family, right to care, and right to education.

In 2010, MdM’s adoption programme remained the largest in France and the only one integrated
into a medical NGO. The priority is to find families for children who could not be adopted in
their own country. MdM accompanies and prepares the candidates for complex adoptions: adoption
of multiple siblings, children over seven years old and adoption of children with medical conditions.


ACTIVITIES

MdM supported the adoption of more than 3,700 children between 1990 and 2010. In 2010, 203
children arrived in France and were adopted by 186 families. Half of the adoptions were complex:

• 32 children (15.6%) were adopted with siblings, primarily from Colombia, Brazil, Haiti and Russia;
• 13 children (6.4%) were older than seven, and, of these, seven were adopted with siblings;
• 25 children (12.3%), mainly from China and Vietnam, had medical conditions.

MdM supports the children and their families for two years, as and when needed. In 2010, MdM
carried out 750 home visits.


ORGANISATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES

MdM is authorised for adoption in 82 French departments and, in addition to the work at headquarters,
has 15 adoption hubs in its regional offices.

The MdM adoption project is characterised by the highly qualified nature of its volunteers:

  • 18% are doctors,
  • 33% psychologists,
  • 16% paramedics,
  • 11% social workers,
  • 8% teachers or teaching assistants,
  • 14% are from other professions (including legal professionals).


OUTLOOK

The focus will continue to be on complex adoptions. The mission is also continuing its risk prevention
approach, in particular through adoptive family preparation and financial transparency


Funding Adopting families, Ministry of Foreign Affairs grants, MdM and private donors.
Budget 2010 410,000 € 


November 2011

Adoption