Gender, Children, and Social Protection Minister, Otiko Afisa Djaba together with outgoing US ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson have re-inaugurated the only public shelter for trafficked children in Accra.
 The shelter, which has the capacity to house 40 children at a time has been non-functional since 2010 due to non-maintenance and lack of funds to run it.
The shelter has two dormitory blocks for boys and girls, a kitchenette, a day-room, bungalows for social workers, a dining room, among others, and is to house victims for almost three months before they are re-integrated into the community.
The shelter was made possible by the International Organisation on Migration (IOM), the United States Embassy and the Government of Ghana.
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Addressing the gathering, the gender minister hinted that soon the ministry would also be inaugurating an adult female shelter, adding that the provision of a shelter would further boost the country’s anti-human trafficking rankings next year.
She said Ghana was a source, transit and destination country for men, women, and children who were subjected to forced labour, sexual exploitation, and domestic abuse.
She said the government had demonstrated its political will to fight human trafficking by depositing GH¢ 500,000 into a special account opened for human trafficking.
Mr. Robert Jackson commended Ghana for her efforts so far to address issues of human trafficking.
He said the US assistance to the shelter became possible through a child protection compact agreement that Ghana had signed with the United States of America (USA).
The Minister for the Interior, Mr. Ambrose Dery, in an address, said the provision of the shelter was necessary if the country was to win the fight against human trafficking.
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