Three days of training will be given by IOM to 16 local partner
organizations implementing an IOM regional programme providing
return and reintegration assistance to child victims of trafficking
in West Africa in a bid to strengthen the counter-trafficking
response to child trafficking.

Despite significant commitments from regional bodies and
national governments to fight human trafficking, it continues to be
a serious phenomenon in West Africa with most recent estimates of
child trafficking ranging between 200,000 - 300,000 each year.

The training, which begins in Dakar on 6 October, seeks to
reinforce the referral system for child victims of trafficking in
Senegal and to strengthen cooperation between national institutions
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in child
protection.

It will focus on the identification and protection of victims of
trafficking; psychosocial assistance and communication techniques
and on first aid and gender mainstreaming in child protection
related projects.

Since IOM's regional programme began in 2006 in partnership with
children's shelters, NGOs and child protection associations in West
Africa, it has assisted 565 children to return home and reintegrate
into their communities of origin. In collaboration with partners,
IOM provides psychological counselling and medical care, support
for school enrolment, and vocational training for returned
children. Income generation projects are also provided for families
and communities.

Meanwhile, as part of the initiative, an art exhibition
showcasing work from four centres for homeless children (including
victims of trafficking) has opened in Dakar.

The exhibition, titled "Parole aux Enfants", or "Childrens'
Voices", aims to raise awareness of the vulnerability of street
children as well as provide an opportunity for the children to talk
about their own experiences through art.  The exhibition,
organized with the support of the US State Department, Bureau for
Population, Refugees and Migration runs until the end of the
week.

"The art exhibit illustrates the success of the regional
programme in assisting trafficked children in West Africa. It also
points to the ongoing need for these crucial services which could
end by the middle of October unless further funding is secured,"
notes IOM Regional Programme Development Officer, Alexia
Scarlett.

For more information, please contact:

IOM Dakar Counter-Trafficking Unit

E-mail: "mailto:dkrct@iom.int">dkrct@iom.int