Child adoptions from overseas dropped to just six last year, the fewest in 11 years, the latest figures show.
According to Family Minister Michael Farrugia, from January to December last year, three children were adopted from Slovakia and one each from Albania, Russia and India. Dr Farrugia was replying to questions in Parliament from PN MP Paula Mifsud Bonnici.
A number of other children had been paired with potential parents, but the adoption process was still under way, the minister said.
They include a child from Russia, two from Portugal, five from Slovakia and15 from India.
For years parents seeking to adopt have complained of a lengthy process that often ended in disappointment
Adoptions have decreased sharply over the past few years, with figures reaching a new low in 2015, when there were only 18 children brought over from Albania, Slovakia and Russia. In that year, eight children were adopted from local institutions.
In 2014, Maltese parents adopted 27 children from overseas. In contrast, an average of 50 a year was registered between 2005 and 2013.
Announcing the 2015 figures last summer, Dr Farrugia insisted that the government was in talks with adoption authorities in Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Brazil, Chile and Vietnam.
On the slow and often arduous process undergone by Maltese parents trying to adopt, Dr Farrugia said that the ministry was in regular contact with other countries in an attempt to reach an agreement that made such adoptions possible.
For years, parents seeking to adopt have complained of a lengthy process that often ended in disappointment.
According to the minister, coming to such agreements did not solely depend on the Maltese government, as it was often the other countries who stalled the process.
In addition, the government had to be cautious when looking to opening adoption channels with other countries, as not all countries carried out thorough checks, which could be problematic at later stages.
Contacted for a reaction about the latest figures, a spokeswoman for the ministry said in 2016 there were “other children who were matched with Maltese couples”.
“At the moment, these matches are being processed in order for these children to be adopted by Maltese prospective parents,” the spokeswoman said.