By Christopher Arko
Accra, July 30, GNA – Ghana has made significant progress in rescuing victims of human trafficking over the past five years, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, said on Thursday.
She said the number of victims rescued increased from 821 in 2021 to 846 in 2022, rose to 1,089 in 2023, and reached 2,331 in 2025, the highest figure recorded during the period.
Dr Lartey made the disclosure at a national symposium in Accra to commemorate the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (Blue Day).
The symposium, organised by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in collaboration with the Anti-Human Trafficking Secretariat, was on the theme: “Human Trafficking Act @20: Advancing Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership in Ghana – The Journey So Far.”
She attributed the gains to strengthened collaboration among state institutions, law enforcement agencies, civil society organisations and international partners, which had significantly improved Ghana’s response to victim rescue and protection.
Despite the progress, Dr Lartey said major challenges remained, including inadequate resources for prevention activities and the limited number of shelters to provide protection and rehabilitation for survivors.
She said while public awareness had improved, law enforcement officers, prosecutors and the judiciary required continuous capacity building to respond effectively to increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks.
Commissioner of Police (COP) Lydia Yaako Donkor, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), said the enactment of the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694), established the legal framework for preventing trafficking, protecting victims and prosecuting offenders.
She said although Ghana had made considerable progress over the past two decades, the fight against human trafficking was far from over.
COP Donkor said the CID’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit continued to play a leading role in enforcing the law by investigating cases involving child trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and transnational trafficking networks.
She said the Unit recorded 127 human trafficking cases in 2025, rescued 1,202 victims, filed 10 cases before the courts and secured eight convictions.
Ghana had maintained its Tier 2 ranking in the United States Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report through sustained national efforts and strong partnerships.
COP Donkor, however, warned that traffickers were increasingly adopting sophisticated methods, using social media, smartphones, digital platforms and encrypted messaging services to recruit and exploit victims across borders.
She said fake job offers, scholarships, educational opportunities, domestic work placements and travel opportunities were increasingly being used to lure victims into surrendering their passports, savings and personal information, only to end up in forced labour, debt bondage, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and other forms of modern slavery.
She also identified emerging forms of cyber-enabled trafficking, including fraudulent online investment schemes, digital recruitment platforms, romance scams and transnational criminal networks.
COP Donkor said criminal syndicates were exploiting unemployment, economic hardship and the aspirations of young people seeking better opportunities.
She called for a more technology-driven response, saying the future of anti-human trafficking enforcement must combine traditional policing with digital intelligence, cyber investigations, data analytics, the responsible use of artificial intelligence and enhanced international information sharing.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Christopher Arko