SILVER SPRING, MD (July 26, 2024) – The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) joins global communities on July 30 to commemorate World Day Against Trafficking in Persons and reinforce eradicating child trafficking. This year’s theme, “Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking,” highlights the significant proportion of female trafficking victims globally.

According to the United Nations, more than 1.2 million children are trafficked each year, and minors are twice as likely as adults to endure violence during trafficking. In regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, the incidence of child trafficking is disproportionately high, with minors constituting 60 percent of the detected victims.

“Human trafficking is a serious and widespread crime affecting millions of men, women, and children worldwide. ADRA is highly aware of the crucial nature of this crisis, particularly child trafficking, as minors account for a sizable proportion of global victims. ADRA is at the forefront of providing support services and programs to victims, many of whom have been subjected to violence, forced labor, sexual exploitation, and recruited as child soldiers in armed conflicts. ADRA will continue raising awareness, advocating, and promoting action globally to educate and engage communities to protect children and adults from falling victim to trafficking,” declares ADRA International’s Vice President for Humanitarian Affairs, Imad Madanat.

ADRA Child Protection Programs

ADRA spearheads programs in different regions of the world specifically to support children at risk for human trafficking by addressing the root causes like poverty and inequality to reduce children’s vulnerability.

ADRA Bangladesh

ADRA implements a project in Bangladesh to prevent forced child labor. According to UNICEF, three million children in the country are forced to work, and many of them become victims of human trafficking. The young people who live in Bangladesh’s urban slums are the most vulnerable. To address the problem, ADRA established a school in a low-income neighborhood, and the Chalantika Slum Children Development Project (CSCDP), which has been offering high-quality education and social services to prevent malnutrition, since 1972.

Keep Girls Safe in Thailand

ADRA’s Keep Girls Safe (KGS) project in Thailand, collaborates with government agencies, local organizations, and community groups to improve awareness and reduce women and girls’ vulnerability to sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Keep Girls Safe (KGS), which has a shelter for high-risk girls, and offers education scholarships to 100 young women, is marking its 20th year of success.  The project also partners with the Chiang Rai Secondary Education Department to train students, high school teachers, and counselors on how to raise awareness and encourage reporting of online exploitation, abuse, and human trafficking.

ADRA Program for Refugee Children and Families

ADRA works with refugee and displaced children in a variety of settings to ensure their safety and protection, as they are targets of human traffickers. According to UN reports, an increasing number of refugee and migrant children are taking exceedingly dangerous routes, frequently at the behest of smugglers and traffickers, and being sold into slavery or prostitution.

ADRA Lebanon

To safeguard children, ADRA runs educational initiatives in many refugee camps around the world. ADRA’s Learning Center in Baalbek, Lebanon, offers education to children who fled the Syrian conflict and connects them and their families to crucial services.

ADRA Mexico

In Mexico, ADRA assists refugee families and children who flee from violence and conflict zones by providing food, shelter, health services, and counseling.

ADRA Europe

ADRA greets refugee children with blankets, hot drinks, and food at the Ukraine Border. Photo credit: ADRA Romania

ADRA has also launched extensive response operations to protect refugee children and families who escape the fighting in Ukraine.  Several ADRA country offices including Austria, Belgium, Romania, and Slovakia, offer numerous social services, such as food, cash assistance, access to education, shelter, psychosocial support, and protection at border crossings.

Help ADRA create a safer world by joining the battle against human trafficking. Visit https://adra.org/child-protection to discover more about ADRA’s global trafficking prevention efforts, as well as ways to help survivors and protect vulnerable people from this heinous crime.