By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
President of Challenging Heights, a human rights organization based in Ghana, Dr. James Kofi Annan, has announced that his outfit in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, have rescued 82 human trafficking and forced labor victims since the beginning of the year 2025.
These rescues, according to him include 57 children made up of 31 boys and 26 girls were rescued from the fishing industry, while another 25 of the victims (all girls) were cross-border Nigerians rescued from forced prostitution.
All the victims rescued have received various forms of support. While 57 of the victims received rehabilitation and educational support, all the 25 Nigerian nationals who were rescued have been returned home.
Challenging Heights (CH) is a survivor-led Ghanaian NGO which operates the largest human trafficking victim’s rehabilitation center in Ghana.
Management of CH has commended the Ghana Police Service, especially the Criminal Investigations Department, for 20 years of relentless collaboration with Challenging Heights in addressing the human trafficking phenomena in Ghana.
Over the past 20 years, management and staff of CH has rescued thousands of boys and girls from human trafficking from various sectors of the Ghanaian economy, especially from the fishing, mining and farming industries in Ghana.
Globally, there are over 49.6million people found in modern slavery (which also includes human trafficking), over 91,000 of them are found in Ghana, according to the Global Slavery Index.
It is estimated that there are over 21,000 children found in forced labor on Lake Volta alone.
Management is therefore appealing to the Finance Minister to allocate a minimum of GHC20million to the Human Trafficking Fund in the upcoming 2026 budget.
“We are also calling on the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, to initiate action, to amend the 2005 human trafficking law, to take into account the exigencies of the time,” the president in a statement said.
Human trafficking is an offence punishable by Ghana’s Human Trafficking Act 2005.
When convicted, offenders could go to prison for a minimum of five years, and a maximum of 25 years. We therefore take this opportunity to appeal to the general public to desist from any acts that would force any person becoming a victim of trafficking.
