The campaign; "Say No to Illegal Migration," seeks to highlight the consequences and dangers of irregular migration, which the GIS says is  common among SHS graduates who travel to Europe through Libya on the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean.

The GIS is collaborating with the Initiative Black and White (IBW) a Ghanaian-German international non-governmental organisation, and the Sunyani Youth Development Association (SYDA), to undertake the campaign. 

Addressing students and staff of the Jinijini SHS in the Berekum West District of the Bono Region, Superintendent Haruna Alhassan, the Officer in charge of the Migration Information Centre, said students needed to be sensitised on the dangers of irregular migration to help them make informed decisions.

He said many Ghanaians lost their lives annually through irregular migration and advised potential migrants to acquire genuine documents and use the appropriate travelling routes to Europe and other countries abroad.

Supt. Alhassan said from 2011 to date the three regions had recorded high figures of irregular migration, of which the few who were fortunate to reach Europe went through slavery, molestation and economic challenges.

The campaigners had already held separate public fora at Nkrankrom and Adamsu in the Sunyani and Jaman South Municipalities respectively of the Bono Region to sensitise the youth.

Similar fora were held for students and staff of the Sunyani, Sacred Heart and Odumaseman SHSs and the Twene Amanfo Senior High and Technical School.

Mr Atta Akoto Jnr., the Project Coordinator of IBW, Brong-Ahafo, said the campaign would be extended to Dormaa SHS at Dormaa-Ahenkro and Nsawkaw State College in the Tain District.

He identified unemployment as the root cause of irregular migration among the youth in the three regions and advised the youth to take advantage of a skills training initiative by the SYDA and enroll to acquire employable skills.

Pictures show illegal migrants in a Libyan metro mass truck conveying them from 'Agadas', a converging point on the Sahara Desert to Libya