Challenging Heights rescues 144 trafficking victims, calls for investigation into cross-border baby-harvesting syndicate

In the lead-up to the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the organization Challenging Heights announced it supported the rescue of 144 individuals from trafficking and modern slavery in the first six months of 2026. The victims included 42 children, 19 boys and 23 girls, rescued from forced labor on Lake Volta. Additionally, 102 Nigerian nationals, comprising 60 girls and 42 boys aged 13 to 29, were rescued.

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modern slavery is real and exists among us, noting that too many compatriots remain in denial.

Challenging Heights issued a statement on July 29, 2026, cautioning the Ghanaian public about the pervasive reality of modern slavery. The organization highlighted that an estimated 50 million people globally were living in modern slavery on any given day, with over 7 million in Africa alone, according to the Global Slavery Index. The International Labour Organisation estimates that forced labor generates over $236 billion in illegal annual profits.

The forms of exploitation are diverse and severe. Children were forced into fishing on Lake Volta or compelled into cyber-criminal activities. Nigerian girls were trafficked to Ghana with false promises of decent work, only to be subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and abuse, particularly in mining communities. One teenage survivor, who had been in Ghana for nearly a year, was found pregnant and reported that her captor attempted to sell her baby.

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Most disturbing of all, several survivors have given consistent accounts of what they describe as an organised baby-harvesting and baby-selling operation, in which young Nigerian women are brought into Ghana, made pregnant, and held until they deliver babies who are then sold.

Most alarmingly, multiple survivors have provided consistent accounts of an organized baby-harvesting and baby-selling operation. These accounts suggest young Nigerian women are brought to Ghana, forced to carry pregnancies to term, and have their babies sold. While Challenging Heights has not independently verified these claims, they deem them grave, credible, and consistent enough to warrant an immediate and thorough investigation by security agencies. The organization urged the government to adequately resource agencies fighting trafficking and called for a significant allocation of funds to combat this issue.

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mount a massive, coordinated investigative operation to unravel the suspected baby-harvesting and baby-selling syndicate, rescue any victims still held, and bring the perpetrators to justice under the Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694).