International adoptions hit

REQUESTS for international adoptions have fallen 70 per cent in Malaga since the start of the financial crisis. In 2007, there were 240 requests for international adoption, while last year there were just 74.

And so far this year there have been just 46, according to the Junta de Andalucia Department for Health and Social Welfare. Processing an adoption takes up to three years on average, and costs about €12,000 to bring a child from abroad, including fees, legal requirements and trips to the child’s country of origin.