Victims of human trafficking infected with HIV/AIDS

 Victims of human trafficking are tricked, trapped and then sexually abused, recently about 20 Ugandan girls were rescued from China, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. The victims were traced by Willow International organisation (WIO).

According to WIO case manager Joy Kivumbi some of the girls rescued were found to be infected with HIV/AIDs, while others were impregnated by the human traffickers. Kivumbi reveals the organisation rehabilitates the victims, empower them with business skills and later re-integrate them with their families

She added that most of the victims go with high expectations of fat salaries but they end up suffering. 'Among those rescued ,two women were expecting, they have given birth and we are taking care of them with their babies, 'she added.

World Shine Ministries-founder Bishop-Medad Birungi

Globally about 45.8 million people are enslaved, India remains the country with highest number of people in slavery with 18.3million people. In sub Saharan Africa Nigeria has the largest number of enslaves with 875,500 followed by the Democratic republic of Congo with 873,100.

In Uganda in 2014 about 293 trafficking cases were investigated an increase from 159 cases reported the previous year. It is against this background that officials from Stop trafficking of people Organisation (STOP) a South Africa based NGO together with World shine ministries and National freedom Network a Zambian based organisation have come up to sensitize the public how to combat human trafficking in the Country.

The director of STOP Corinne Sandenbergh called upon government to empower children in schools with knowledge on how to avoid being trafficked. 'There is a need to empower young people in schools with knowledge on human trafficking to be able to say no,' Sandenbergh emphasized.

The 2009 Prevention of trafficking in person Act prohibits all forms of trafficking, prescribing punishments of 15 years to life imprisonment which are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. Trafficking in Persons is the recruitment, transfer, or receipt of a person by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, or the abuse of power, for the purpose of exploitation.

Bishop Medad Birungi the director of World shine ministries human trafficking is on increase in Uganda saying that many of the girls go as labour migrants but when they reach their destinations they are forced into prostitution.

Moses Karamagi one of the participant said the traffickers are using Nairobi, Kenya route to trade young girls to the Middle East and Asia as sex slaves. Recently Moses Binoga, a coordinator of the anti-human trafficking task force in the ministry of internal affairs called for a need to set up a national agency that will act as a one stop centre to address all human-trafficking related issues.