In a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, Penny Mordaunt, the Department’s International Development Secretary, said that the package was created for countries committed to action to help human trafficking victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
Mordaunt explained that the package, which had other trappings, was to support tough new legislations to prevent and tackle human trafficking and forced labour in Ghana, Pakistan, Uganda and Bangladesh.
The other benefiting-countries, according to her, are Kenya, Malawi, Namibia and Sri Lanka and it is to support the scrutiny and oversight of the response to human trafficking.
Mordaunt said that the DFID and the Home Office aimed to identify vulnerable people at most risk of child labour.
She also said that both offices planned on strengthening law enforcement responses in a number of Commonwealth countries, including Nigeria, to crack down on the crime.
“The UK and the Commonwealth are stepping up to fight one of the greatest injustices of our time which is the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable people by predators.
“UK aid is helping to stamp out these evil practices by smashing the traffickers’ exploitative business model, helping to punish the perpetrators and supporting vulnerable people and victims.
“The victims who are often women and children will be helped to rebuild their lives so they do not fall back into a cycle of abuse.
“The Commonwealth is uniting to take on this challenge.
“Our renewed commitment to end exploitation of anyone, anywhere, is vital in a world where over 40 million people are still being forced to live in these barbaric conditions,’’ she said.
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