Madonna wins child adoption appeal

Madonna has won her appeal to adopt a second child, Chifundo "Mercy" James, aged four, from Malawi. The highest court in Malawi has approved Madonna’s adoption, overturning an earlier ruling. The court has ruled that the earlier ruling did not take into account the singer's commitment to helping disadvantaged children.

The southern African state's chief justice, Lovemore Munlo, praised Madonna's interest in helping Malawi orphans and said the child would have a better life with the star. Mercy has been living in an orphanage since her 18-year-old mother died shortly after giving birth.

With the affects of HIV/AIDS beginning to impact severely on many developing country populations, providing long-term care to children who have been orphaned or lost the support of their parents and family is an important question facing governments and welfare agencies around the world. In Malawi alone there are over 1 million orphaned children, half of which have been orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS.

Thanks to the help of our sponsors and donors worldwide, SOS Children currently cares for over 300 children in its SOS Children’s Villages and youth homes in Malawi and supports a total of 50,000 people with education and skills training, medical support and Family Strengthening Programmes. By working with local communities and supporting them through even the most difficult of times, our aim is to keep as many children within their family or extended family network as possible.