An amount of GH¢508.7 million has been appropriated by the Human Trafficking Secretariat (HTS) to tackle Human Trafficking in the country. The goal of this initiative is to eradicate the menace by the end of 2026.
Various interventions, including collaborations with various public institutions and civil society organisations, have been captured in the National Plan of Action (NPA) for the Elimination of Human Trafficking in Ghana.
The five-year project, which started in 2022, is expected to end in 2026.
The expenditure covers five broad areas, namely prevention, protection, prosecution, partnership, monitoring and evaluation.
Activities
The activities of the NPA borders on advocacy and capacity building; comprehensive care to victims of trafficking, interventions, capacity building, shelter, improvement of prosecution efforts, strengthening of legal and regulatory framework; resource mobilisation and implementation, establishing a robust monitory system for trafficking, among others.
Subsequently, the report stated that GH¢102,100,409 million will be spent in 2023, while GH¢98,564,823 million will be required in 2024.
For 2025, a total of GH¢98,468,486 million will be spent, while in 2026, the secretariat is projecting a total of GH¢96,217,399 million to be spent to eliminate human trafficking in the country.
Sex trafficking
Additionally, the report revealed that sex trafficking was prevalent in the Volta Region and was also growing in the oil producing Western Region.
“Ghanaian girls and young women from the rural regions in the north move to urban centres such as Accra to seek work as porters and are at risk of sex trafficking and forced labour.
“Ghanaian women and children are recruited and sent to the Middle East, West Africa, and Europe for forced labour and sex trafficking,” the report said.
It stated that licensed and unlicensed agencies were engaged in recruiting young Ghanaian women for domestic service, forced prostitution or hospitality and industrial jobs in the Gulf countries.
“After their return, many of them reported being deceived, overworked, starved, abused, molested or forced into prostitution,” the report added.
The report added that Ghanaian men were not spared, as they were recruited under false pretences to go to the Middle East where they were subjected to domestic servitude and forced labour.
Internal trafficking
However, the report stated that internal trafficking of children in Ghana was one of the biggest challenges in combating human trafficking in the country.
“Exploitation of children thrives in various sectors of the economy, including agriculture, industry and mining.
In addition to fishing, other avenues where trafficked children work include street hawking.
“Children may be forced to beg by their families or by a third party who has access to the child through trafficking.
The fishing industry receives many trafficked children, driven by poverty,” the report added.
Source: Graphic.com.gh