Chiefs, religious leaders urged to raise more awareness about human trafficking
Mulonya stated that the country is making slow progress in the fight against human trafficking.
Malawi: Rodrick Mulonya, Chairperson of the Malawi Network Against Trafficking in Persons, has urged chiefs and faith-based leaders in the country to help raise awareness about human trafficking as one way of combating cases of human trafficking in the country.
He made the request on Wednesday, at the start of a two-day opinion leaders' conference on combating human trafficking in Malawi, organised by Norwegian Church Aid/Danish Church Aid (NCA/DCA) in Salima district.
Mulonya stated that the country is making slow progress in the fight against human trafficking.
"As a country, we are not doing well; currently, human trafficking does not consider whether someone is educated or not; therefore, we need to sensitise each and every citizen in this country to understand what human trafficking is all about," Mulonya said.
As a result, he urged chiefs and religious leaders to help raise awareness about the malpractice.
"As an organisation, we are urging chiefs and religious leaders to help raise awareness about human trafficking. When giving sermons or hutubars, we want faith leaders to include issues related to human trafficking, and chiefs should also highlight human trafficking issues during community gatherings," he said.
As a result, he thanked NCA/DCA for organising the conference on combating human trafficking for opinion leaders, particularly chiefs and faith-based leaders, noting that the meeting was timely given that the country is currently recording an increase in human trafficking cases.
During the meeting, Paramount Chief Mbelwa 5 of Mzimba district commended NCA/DCA and its partners for engaging chiefs on human trafficking issues, saying that this would help them as chiefs deliver accurate information about human trafficking to their communities.
He also advised fellow chiefs to take human trafficking awareness work more seriously.
"As chiefs, we must take the lead in educating our people about the dangers of human trafficking," Mbelwa 5 said.
In response, Mangochi Archdiocese Bishop Montfort Sitima stated that as faith leaders, they are also committed to assisting the government and its stakeholders in the fight against human trafficking in the country.
However, he stated that the government must step up its efforts to combat human trafficking in the country.
Chiefs from various districts, faith leaders of various denominations, and Ministry of Homeland Security officials were among those who attended the opinion leaders' conference on combating human trafficking in Malawi.
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