Global Hope Mobilisation Organisation (Glohomo) has embarked on a two-year project in Mzimba District to curb human trafficking, an illicit activity which is said to be rampant in the district.

Glohomo Executive Director, Caleb Thole, disclosed the development on Thursday during Mzimba District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting, saying Mzimba was identified as a hotspot district in human trafficking.

“Last year, Malawi registered 688 cases of human trafficking and Mzimba District was top of the list,” said Thole.

He explained that a day cannot pass without hearing that someone has been trafficked, while there are ‘a thousand plus’ cases which go unreported. Thole described the situation a big challenge to the district.

On his part, Mzimba District Labour Officer, Russell Mhone, said the project had come at the right time when the district was grappling with rampant cases of human trafficking, particularly to South Africa.

Mhone also said that with right awareness campaigns, cases of human trafficking can be reduced in the district as perpetrators will be unable to deceive an informed community.

The ‘Tigwirane Manja Counter-Trafficking in Persons’ is a two-year project which is funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to the tune of $100, 000 (about MK85 million) for Mzimba District.