895 trafficked Ghanaians rescued – Gender Ministry

Nearly 900 Ghanaians have been rescued by a joint operation of the Ghana Immigration,Ghana Police Service and the Economic and Organised Crime Organization (EOCO) from Human traffickers since 2017.

Cynthia Morrison, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP), made this revelation at an event held in Accra to create awareness on Human Trafficking.

“The joint operation by those security agencies and the gender ministry has rescued 895 victims of human trafficking since 2017,” she said.

Speaking on the theme: “Together we end human trafficking now”, the minister described the figures as encouraging as compared to those of previous years.

She said, her ministry was working tirelessly to intensify its efforts in combating human trafficking across the country as perpetrators were now using all strategies to maintain their grip on the trade through various means.

“We would also like to revive the entire Anti Human Trafficking Unit of our law enforcement agencies, especially the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Immigration service, to equip them to fight the menace.” She said.

 According to her, the Human Trafficking Secretariat under her ministry has rehabilitated 29 victims at its female adult shelter since February 1, 2019.

Hammering on the need to campaign against Human trafficking, the Minister said, the menace is gaining grounds because young people are eager to travel outside the country for non-existing greener pasture.

She called on the general public to actively support the fight against human trafficking.

The event was held by the Coalition of NGOs Against Child Trafficking (CNACT) and the British High Commission.