New coalition to fight human trafficking and protect Ghanaian youth from scam networks

Ghana is set to launch a new civil society coalition dedicated to fighting transnational crime and shielding young people from trafficking networks involved in forced criminality. This initiative follows a national forum that addressed the escalating threat of scam-related human trafficking.

The "Trapped Behind the Scam" forum, organized by GYAN Ghana, the Democratic Network for Action (DNA), and Transnational Mobility Pathways (TMP), brought together government representatives, the UN, civil society groups, survivor networks, and industry leaders. Discussions centered on the increasing number of young Ghanaians being lured into cyber-enabled fraud through deceptive online job offers, only to be subjected to force and intimidation.

The Ghana Civil Society Coalition Against Transnational Crime will officially inaugurate in Accra on International Youth Day, August 12, 2026. Its mission is to enhance collaboration among organizations working to combat trafficking and related crimes across Ghana, West Africa, and the wider African continent. The forum concluded with a communiqué outlining commitments from government, the private sector, civil society, and youth to bolster prevention efforts, victim protection, and cross-border cooperation.

GYAN Ghana Co-convener Lamberta Bina Abusah stressed that the issue extends beyond criminality, representing a human rights concern for vulnerable youth. "For fifteen years... GYAN Ghana has warned that this was never simply a story of criminal young people. It was a story of young people preyed upon," she stated. "Today the world calls it ‘Trapped Behind the Scam’, and the young person is no longer only running the scam. Increasingly, they are trafficked and forced to run it." The forum highlighted recent rescue operations, including over 100 young Ghanaians saved in Ho in January 2026 and 28 repatriated from Côte d’Ivoire in May 2026.

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For fifteen years, since young Ghanaians first began to be drawn into online fraud, GYAN Ghana has warned that this was never simply a story of criminal young people. It was a story of young people preyed upon. Today the world calls it ‘Trapped Behind the Scam’, and the young person is no longer only running the scam. Increasingly, they are trafficked and forced to run it.