By Edward Acquah, GNA
Accra, Sept. 22, GNA – The International Justice Mission (IJM) Ghana has urged religious bodies to strengthen efforts to protect children from trafficking and exploitation.
It said churches, mosques and other faith-based organisations could use their influence to raise awareness, mobilise communities and promote justice for vulnerable people.
Madam Anita Budu, Director of West Africa, IJM, made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of this year’s Freedom Sunday service in Accra.
The service, organised by IJM Ghana in partnership with Impact City Church, formed part of a global initiative through which churches and Christians pray, worship and take action for justice and against human trafficking.
Madam Budu said the initiative sought to remind faith communities of their responsibility to support vulnerable people, including children, widows and the oppressed, and to seek justice for those unable to do so themselves.
“We want religious bodies to be able to focus more on what God says about justice and caring for the vulnerable in their pulpits and wherever they have influence,” she said.
More than 80 churches across Ghana participated in this year’s Freedom Sunday activities, while over 30 mosques shared messages on justice and the protection of vulnerable people during Friday prayers.
Madam Budu said despite progress in combating child trafficking, children were still being taken to the Volta Lake and farms, where they were subjected to exploitative labour.
“We need communities to continue safeguarding their children, that this doesn’t continue to happen,” she said.
IJM data indicates that more than 500 child trafficking victims have been rescued in Ghana over the past decade through collaboration with state justice institutions, while more than 70 perpetrators have been convicted.
A 2022 prevalence study commissioned by IJM and published in 2025 found that 38 per cent of children in communities around Lake Volta were suspected victims of trafficking, while 45 per cent were engaged in exploitative child labour.
Madam Budu said the government must continue interventions to protect children exposed to trafficking and exploitation.
She said IJM would in 2027 continue engaging chiefs, religious bodies and other faith-based organisations to strengthen justice and child protection.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Edward Acquah
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