The Outreach Care manager at Awareness Against Human Trafficking Kenya, Winnie Akinyi has said there is a need to increase action against child trafficking.
Akinyi was speaking on Tuesday during inaugural Africa's Children Summit where HAART hosted an event in Nairobi.
She said child trafficking has become an epidemic that must be addressed urgently.
"The majority of identified victims of human trafficking in Africa are children and this number has increased by 43 per cent in the last year," she said.
According to the International Labor Organization, child trafficking is taking children out of their protective environment and preying on their vulnerability for the purpose of exploitation.
Akinyi said Kenya has been identified as a country of origin, transit and a destination for child trafficking.
She said traffickers often use deception and coercion to recruit children for trafficking and that online recruitment of children is on the rise.
"They may use false promises of education, employment, or a better life to lure them into exploitation," Akinyi said.
Child trafficking takes many forms such as child labour, domestic servitude, child marriage, sexual exploitation, forced begging, removal of organs among many others.
Akinyi said approximately 12 million children are trafficked worldwide.
She said according to a survey on Global Estimates on Modern Slavery conducted in 2022, the numbers are significantly on the rise
"In 2017, that same study counted 10 million trafficked children. Of the 12 million trafficked children, around 9 million children are in forced marriage, disproportionately affecting girls," she said.
Looking at child labour in general, Akinyi said subsaharan Africa stands out as the region with the highest prevalence and largest number, as it affects almost 90 million children.
"Children from families who experience poverty, inequality, and lack of access to basic services are especially vulnerable to trafficking and child labour," Akinyi said.
She said children from rural areas and disadvantaged backgrounds are at a particularly high risk of trafficking.
