Geneva Global (GG) and Free The Slaves (FTS), international NGOs working in partnership with local organizations to prevent and address contemporary slavery and child trafficking in mining and fishing areas in Ghana, on Tuesday called on partners to work towards promoting the best interest of the child at all times.
The GG and FTS also called on the police and other law enforcement agencies to intensify their efforts at combating the practice.
Mr Emmanuel Otoo, West Africa Regional Coordinator of FTS, who made the call at a three-day capacity-strengthening workshop for 25 participants drawn from eight local partners of GG and four partners of the FTS in Accra, said in spite of efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, the practice continued to exist.
The workshop enabled the local partners to interact, share and learn as well as find practical solutions to various challenges they faced in efforts to rescue trafficked children.
It also addressed gaps expressed by the various partners to enhance their implementation processes to ensure that projects and programmes were executed in a professional and cost effective way with the active involvement of all key stakeholders especially the players at the district assembly levels.
Mr Otoo drew attention of the partners to the issue of modern day slavery and called on them to conduct further investigation and research into it to uncover the practice to enable civil society organisations and Government to enhance intervention packages to deal with it.
He said modern-day slavery still existed and pledged the preparedness of FTS to collaborate with government and other stakeholders to find sustainable solution to the issue.
Mr Otoo said trafficking exposed children to worst forms child labour and advised parents and guardians who give out children to traffickers in exchange for gifts to desist from the practice.
Madam Louise Makau-Barasa, GG Programme Director in-charge of Central, West Africa and the Caribbean Regions, said the GG and FTS were committed to unlocking the potential of the trafficked children and to protect them from risks.
She called for a holistic approach and active participation of all stakeholders including government to effectively combat the practice.
Mr George Achiba, Executive Director of PACODEP, a local partner of GG at Kete-Krachi in the Volta Region, said his organization had rescued over 250 trafficked children and reintegrated them with their families.
Mr Achiba said the PACODEP had also been involved in supporting parents in "sending communities" to venture into income generating activities to be able to cater for their children.
He reminded parents to remain committed to their roles of taking care of their children and not to hide behind poverty and negative cultural practices to give out their children to traffickers who enticed them with some items.
The partners include Social Services Foundation, Challenging Heights, Prolink, Association of People for Practical Life Education, PACODEP, Rescue Foundation.