ETHIOPIA: Campaign launched against child trafficking

This article explores Child trafficking in Ethiopia and introduces a campaign launched by the Ethiopian government, United Nations (UN), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to highlight the plight of vulnerable children in Ethiopia. According to this report, Ethiopia has one of the highest rates of internal trafficking with an estimated 20,000 children sold annually by their family. Ethiopia has approximately 4.6 million orphans, and 200,000 children living on the streets of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Children trafficked are often engaged in domestic labour, commercial sex work, professional begging and other menial tasks. The IOM maintains that an estimated 10,000 Ethiopian women are trafficked abroad to the Gulf States for prostitution. The campaign entitled, “Ethiopia’s Campaign for Vulnerable Children,” seeks to encourage 2006 candidates running for local elections to advance this issue through their agenda.