The Global Freedom Network (GFN) has revealed that about 91,000 people have been identified as victims of modern slavery in Ghana since 2021, highlighting the continued threat posed by human trafficking and other forms of exploitation despite international efforts to eradicate the practice.
Speaking about slavery and its related issues, GFN Programme Coordinator Elizabeth Poku said the figure was based on the organisation’s internal research.
She added that the global number of people living in conditions of modern slavery is estimated at 50 million.
Madam Poku explained that although international conventions adopted in 1926 and 1934 outlawed slavery, several modern forms of exploitation continue to affect millions across the world.
She listed human trafficking, forced labour, child marriage and debt bondage among the practices that remain widespread.
According to her, GFN has been working since 2014 to eliminate modern slavery through public education, advocacy and partnerships with religious institutions and other stakeholders.
She noted that one of the organisation’s flagship initiatives has been organising declaration-signing ceremonies where religious leaders from different faiths publicly commit themselves to combating slavery.
These events have been held in locations including the Vatican, Delhi, Canberra, Jakarta, Buenos Aires, Auckland and Medellín between 2014 and 2018.
Madam Poku said the movement expanded to Africa on August 5, 2021, when Ghana hosted the continent’s first declaration ceremony.
The event brought together 14 religious leaders from Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria, who pledged to support the fight against modern slavery.
Her comments come at a time when the Ghana Police Service has intensified operations against human trafficking.
During a press briefing on July 21, 2026, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) announced that 33 victims had been rescued while 28 suspects were arrested in intelligence-led operations conducted in Accra, Tema and parts of the Ashanti Region.
CID Director-General DCOP Lydia Yaako Donkor said the operations targeted cyber-enabled fraud, human trafficking and illegal arms trafficking.
She also disclosed that security agencies had uncovered several trafficking cases earlier this year, many of which involved victims brought into Ghana from Nigeria.
As part of its awareness campaign, GFN partnered with transport unions and the Police Anti-Trafficking Unit in June 2022 to display posters carrying the Anti-Trafficking Unit’s 18555 hotline at VIP and STC bus terminals.
The campaign also involved educating drivers and passengers on recognising and reporting suspected trafficking cases.
