Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) has called for more awareness about evils of human trafficking and its consequences to national development.
Country Director for NCA Harvard Hovdhaugen asked media practitioners to work with the government and other experts in the human rights field in collaboration with department of human trafficking in persons to get information for dissemination to the general public.
He said the idea is to empower masses to have the right information and knowledge they need to make decisions.
“I call upon the management of the media to ensure 30 days campaign, programs of human trafficking are included in their slots,” he said.
In his remarks, Malawi Network against Trafficking Chairperson Maxwell Matewere pointed out poverty and unemployment among the youths as some of the factors increasing human trafficking in the country.
Matewere explained that it is important that children are protected from human trafficking by providing them with enabling environment to be able to work out a better future for themselves.
He noted that the population of this country is dominated by the youths as such young people are supposed to be included in developmental activities.
In Malawi, an estimated 45.1 percent of the population is under the age of 15 years while 52.2% is in the range of 15-64 years.
Human trafficking is a crime that involves the transportation of people for the purpose of forced labour or sexual exploitation.
According to a child labour and forced labour report released in 2016, most children in the country engages in worst of forms labour including the growing of tobacco.
Commercial sex exploitation and child labour stemming from human trafficking are considered as worst child labour.
Another research from USAID indicates that Malawi is the source country for children, women and men subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking.
