This award is part of a second phase in research for the UGA-based Center on Human Trafficking Research & Outreach (CenHTRO) to implement financial programs for youth and adults at risk of labor trafficking.
The first stage included an award of $2.2 million to research labor trafficking in Africa, which found high levels in Malawi and Zambia.
This $5.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of State will expand the multi-institutional effort against labor trafficking in Malawi and Zambia.
Other universities involved in this project include the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Washington University in St. Louis, as well as the University of Malawi and the University of Zambia.
The financial programs will include digital savings groups, which let participants track spending transactions while developing savings and credit opportunities. UGA’s Center on Human Trafficking Research & Outreach will continue to study the effects of the financial programs.
Another key aspect of these programs is that they will be taking feedback from participants, and will provide opportunities for survivors of labor trafficking to lead these programs in their communities, receiving compensation for their work.
UGA’s Center on Human Trafficking Research & Outreach has received over $30 million from the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons for research and implementation programs in a total of 10 countries.