The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) is calling on benevolent individuals and organisations to contribute to the Human Trafficking Fund as an important step to curb human trafficking.
According to the Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Francisca Oteng-Mensah, the government allocation of GH¢1 million to the fund is inadequate.
She made the call after the commemoration of World Day Against Trafficking, noting that “When it comes to the budget of the ministry, the Human Trafficking Secretariat is given a specific amount of money to fight against human trafficking. Like Oliver Twist, we will always ask for more because if you look at the activities the ministry has rolled out to undertake under human trafficking, it is enormous. Sometimes only the funds coming from the government will not be enough.
“We cannot do it alone. That is why we have that collaboration with our development partners to support us,” she said.
She added, “If you look at today’s event, for instance, we are fortunate to have European Union sponsor some of our activities”.
Speaking at the event, the Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Linda Asante Agyei, urged the media to prioritise reporting of human trafficking issues to fight the menace.
According to her, the critical role played by the media in information dissemination will go a long way to impact positively when human trafficking is given the needed attention.
For her part, a member of the Human Trafficking Management Board, Prof. Angela Ofori-Atta, highlighted success stories of the board’s efforts in dealing with human trafficking.
She noted that the board has embarked on several awareness creation in the Northern Region on human trafficking, child labour and all forms of exploitation.
She said that in 2020, the board held a durbar which brought together 75 chiefs who were sensitised on human trafficking, adding that it had a stakeholder engagement to review a mid-year assessment of the National Plan of Action against human trafficking.
Prof. Ofori-Atta further indicated that, although the board has made significant efforts, the menace still persists, so the need to intensify the fight.