African governments slow to end modern-day slavery

DW (English)

Across Africa today, millions of adults and children are living in slavery. Political instability, extreme poverty, climate change, and conflicts are among the driving forces. Yet many governments have been slow to respond.

Transcript

00:00Modern-day slavery is pervasive in Africa.

00:03The problem is widespread in regions affected by conflict, extreme poverty, and climate change.

00:10Across Africa, more than 3.8 million are subjected to forced labor,

00:17while over 3.1 million are trapped in forced marriages.

00:22Global studies pinpoint three countries on the continent where slavery is particularly acute.

00:28So the Global Slavery Index covers 160 countries around the world,

00:33and we see that those countries that have the highest prevalence of forced labor and forced marriage

00:36tend to be those that are characterized by conflict, limited political will,

00:41or are deeply affected by climate change.

00:43Across Africa, we see countries such as Mauritania, for example, that have high prevalence of modern slavery.

00:49South Sudan, also Eritrea, have high levels of conflict, but also high levels of modern slavery.

00:55Other countries that we know are impacted by climate change are also deeply affected by exploitation.

01:01But slavery persists in more stable African countries, too.

01:05There are 91,000 people in Ghana entrapped in modern-day slavery.

01:09So if it's labor exploitation, someone can be trafficked to do fishing, farming, street hawking, gold mining.

01:16And in Ghana, you can see the situation with galamsay or street hawkers.

01:21We have children who are in forced labor in the Volta Lake.

01:25So it's a widespread problem.

01:28Even a lot of women are being trafficked from Nigeria to Ghana on the streets.

01:35You know, yeah, so it's a huge problem in Ghana.

01:42Lack of employment opportunities has left many vulnerable to slavery.

01:47International faith-based organizations convened in Ghana in October 2025 to seek lasting solutions.

01:56They called for stronger collaboration between governments and civil society

02:00to enforce laws that protect those at risk.

02:05What we're striving to do is to shift attitudes because if a child is in the cocoa farms

02:10or in the Volta Lake working in the fishing villages, they're being deprived of an education

02:16and they need to go through their formation to acquire the necessary qualifications

02:21so that they can achieve, get a good job in future, do well for themselves.

02:27Over the past four years, several African countries have taken steps

02:31to improve their response to modern-day slavery.

02:35Nigeria and South Africa have made the most progress,

02:38while Eritrea and Libya have remained largely inactive.

02:43Experts are warning that more must be done to support survivors,

02:48strengthen protective laws and develop national strategies.

02:52We've also seen some great pockets of progress across Africa.

02:56We're seeing a lot more focus on ratifying relevant conventions.

03:00We also see legislation coming on board and being implemented.

03:04In Ghana, most recently, we also saw the development of a national action plan

03:07for business and human rights, which is fantastic

03:10and recognizes the important role that businesses can play.

03:23Just as soon as you can see,

03:26check the beginnen on.

03:28Come here.

03:31Love you.

03:32Love you.

03:33Love you.

03:34Bye.

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