Beware of Human Traffickers — Reverend Sister to Nurses and Health Workers

By Dennis Peprah, GNA

Fiapre, (B/R), June 30, GNA – Rev. Sister Franncilia Uchenna, a teaching assistant in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Catholic University of Ghana (CUG), has advised nurses and other health workers seeking greener pastures abroad to be wary of the growing activities of human trafficking syndicates.

She said human trafficking groups were everywhere, saying syndicates were now targeting nurses and health workers desperate to travel abroad for greener pastures.

They advertised on the Internet with “appealing” offers as bait to entrap and traffic their unsuspecting victims overseas to work in the sex trade, for organ harvesting and other forms of exploitation.

She was speaking at a seminar organized by the Department for 400 level students of the University, held at its main campus in Fiapre, Sunyani West Municipality.

The seminar provided an opportunity for 400-level nursing and midwifery students to showcase their project work for their academic qualification.

Contributing to the theme 'Human Trafficking: A Global Health Issue', a project undertaken by a group of 400 level students, Rev. Sister Unchenna lamented that traffickers are now harvesting and selling the sensitive organs of their victims, saying everyone and nurses remain the target of traffickers.

The nine-member group working on the project includes Beloved Adekoya, Alabi Oluwaseun Pamilerin, Pearl Ekwuruibe, Victor Oluwafolakunmi Kola-Ajobiewe, Lovelyn Maduka Kosisochuku, Evidence Ofotan, Perpetua Oloba Omolola, Rev Sister Pia Panpogee and Grace Pufaa.

Reverend Sister Uchenna said trafficking for organ harvesting was alarming and a huge global concern.

She advised nurses and health workers to remain cautious so as not to become victims.

She said the role of nurses in the reintegration of rescued victims was also integral, and advised them to remain observant during their duty and establish cordial relations with patients.

This would allow victims who seek health care to open up freely to nurses to analyze and evaluate their psychological state and help them reintegrate into society.

Rev. Sister Panpogee, leader of the group, who is also the Diocesan Coordinator of the Missionary Childhood Association, Sisters of Mary Immaculate, Wa Diocese, Ghana, told the GNA that they intended to serve as advocates to help combat human trafficking in the country.

Rev Panpogee, also a nurse at St Teresa's Hospital in Nandom, Upper West Region, cited unemployment, starvation, poverty and political instability as some of the main causes of human trafficking human rights and urged African governments to prioritize job creation to address the growing youth unemployment rate plaguing the continent.

Reverend Sister Oloba, of the Sisters of St. Louis, Nigeria, and tutor at the St. Louis School of Midwifery in the Diocese of Kafanchan, as well as one of the students, expressed concern that the old slave trade has resurfaced and been well modernized.

She said increased public education and awareness was needed to enable the masses to understand the dynamics and modus operandi of human trafficking syndicates.

This, Rev Sister Oloba said, would go a long way in protecting people from falls and would also help combat the menace.

GNA

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