This article from NPR describes some of the ways in which international volunteering has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and calls attention to the criticisms the industry has received, including in regards to orphanage volunteering.

"Orphanage volunteering and the industry that has emerged to support it have contributed to a system in Kenya and other parts of the world that creates a demand for institutions and children," writes Michelle Oliel of Stahili in this opinion piece for CNN.

In this opinion piece for ABC News, Kate van Doore describes her experience of establishing an orphanage in Nepal in 2006, to later learn that the children in the home's care had living relatives and that many had been recruited to the orphanage.

This episode of Foreign Correspondent from ABC News in Australia exposes the "ugly truth" that donations and volunteer efforts of Westerners, including Australians, often drive an exploitative orphanage industry in developing countries (in this case, Nepal).

This article accompanies an episode of Foreign Correspondent from ABC News Australia entitled 'Paper Orphans.' It tells the story of Devi, a 10-year-old girl in Nepal "forced to pose as an orphan" who is being reunited with her family.

"Orphanage tourism turns children into cash-generating commodities subject to the usual economic laws of supply and demand," says this article from New Europe.

"Orphanage tourism turns children into cash-generating commodities subject to the usual economic laws of supply and demand," say Peter Singer and Leigh Mathews in this commentary piece for Project Syndicate. 

This essay by Amelia Harvey for the ASEAN Studies Center focuses on the rise of orphanages in Cambodia and the manner in which voluntourism has accelerated this growth.

In this article for Forbes, Christine Ro describes how "orphanages are the main cause of the unnecessary separation of children from their families" and discusses the recent launch of Lumos' #HelpingNotHelping campaign which calls for an end to orphanage volunteering.

The International Forum for Volunteering in Development has launched the Global Standard for Volunteering for Development, which will support organizations that work with volunteers to improve their practice and their impact.