Gov’t urged to fund human trafficking fight with GH₵20m

By: Rebecca Okine

President of Challenging Heights, James Kofi Annan, has made a renewed appeal to government to allocate at least GHS20 million to Ghana’s Human Trafficking Fund in the 2026 national budget, stressing that underfunding is crippling key state institutions tasked with fighting trafficking.

In an interview with Zed News, Mr. Annan clarified that this is not a new demand but a persistent call to action.

“We have been making this call for a number of years now. It’s just that it keeps falling on deaf ears,” he said.

Referencing the 2005 Human Trafficking Act, which created the Human Trafficking Fund, he explained that the fund is meant to support the Human Trafficking Secretariat and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service.

“These two important institutions need funding, logistics, and resources to carry out their mandate. If you don’t have money in the Human Trafficking Fund, it means these institutions cannot function effectively,” Mr. Annan stated.

He stressed that the fund is for state use, not for NGOs like his, and is essential for fulfilling statutory responsibilities in combating trafficking.

Mr. Annan’s renewed call follows fresh data revealing that Challenging Heights, working with the Ghana Police Service, rescued 82 victims of trafficking and forced labor in 2025.

Among them were 57 children, 31 boys and 26 girls, trafficked into the fishing industry on Lake Volta. The remaining 25 victims were Nigerian girls trafficked for forced prostitution.

According to DSP William Ayariga of the CID’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, two of the 25 Nigerian victims were minors.

All 57 children have received rehabilitation and educational support, while the Nigerian victims have been repatriated.

Mr. Annan also urged the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to initiate amendments to the Human Trafficking Act of 2005, arguing that it is outdated and does not reflect current realities.

He reminded the public that human trafficking is a serious criminal offense under Ghanaian law, punishable by five to 25 years in prison.

Mr. Annan called on citizens to avoid participating in practices that could contribute to trafficking.

“We must all play a part in ending trafficking. But the state must lead by properly funding the fight,” he added.

Challenging Heights, a survivor-led Ghanaian NGO, operates the country’s largest rehabilitation center for human trafficking victims.

For more than two decades, it has worked with the Ghana Police to rescue thousands of trafficked children from the fishing, mining, and farming sectors.

Globally, over 49.6 million people remain trapped in modern slavery, including human trafficking.

The Global Slavery Index estimates more than 91,000 victims in Ghana alone, and over 21,000 children are believed to be working under forced labor conditions on Lake Volta.