Ghana’s commitment to fighting human trafficking is yielding greater result as the country has maintained its position on the tier two human trafficking global ranking.
The Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Madam Francisca Oteng Mensah, disclosed this at the media launch of the world day against human trafficking in Accra on Tuesday.
Madam Oteng Mensah said the Ministry coordinates all activities of human trafficking in Ghana by adopting legal, legislative and operational measures to reinforce the principle of gender equality and equity in personal status and civil rights.
The Minister commended the human trafficking management board, the various anti-human trafficking units in the Ghana Police Service, Economic Office and Organized Crime, Attorney Generals Department, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, as well as Ghana Immigration Service for their efforts in combating human trafficking in Ghana.
“Due to the timely intervention and positive attitude towards combating human trafficking by these bodies, coordination over the years has significantly improved and response to human trafficking issues has been rapid mainly through a vibrant human trafficking management board,” she stressed.
She appealed to corporate bodies, development partners and other stakeholders to contribute to the Human Trafficking Fund to ensure that more interventions can be undertaken by the Ministry.
On her part, Prof Angela Ofori-Atta, a member of Human Trafficking Management Board, said the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in the past five years, trained 798 law enforcement officers, 230 judges from the High, District, Circuit and Magistrate Courts, 107 social workers, printed over 12,000 Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials to raise public awareness on human trafficking.
The world day against trafficking in persons dubbed “Blue Day” is observed on the 30th July every year and the theme for this year’s celebration is “Ending Human Trafficking: A collective responsibility. The day is earmarked to raise awareness on human trafficking.
Priscilla Osei-Wusu Nimako, ISD
