Meta, in partnership with the Ghana Police Service, has launched the AMBER Alert Programme in Ghana across Facebook, Instagram, and now Messenger, marking a significant expansion of efforts to help find missing children using digital platforms.

The initiative, called AMBER Alert Ghana, is designed to quickly spread critical information about abducted children to people in specific locations through social media.

The alerts, which will appear in users’ Facebook and Instagram feeds and as notifications on Messenger, will include details such as the child’s photo, description, and the suspected location of abduction.

According to Meta, the addition of Messenger is intended to broaden the programme’s reach and improve the chances of recovering missing children.

Ghana becomes the 36th country—and the fifth in Africa after South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco—to roll out the initiative.

“When more people are aware and can assist, the chances of recovering a missing child increase,” said Kojo Boakye, Meta’s Vice President of Public Policy for Africa, the Middle East, and Türkiye.

“Every minute counts, and by reaching people across all three platforms, we’re showing the power of technology to make a real difference.”

Under the programme, the Ghana Police Service will activate an AMBER Alert if a missing child meets specific criteria:

• The child is 17 years or younger
• There’s a reasonable belief of abduction
• The child is thought to be in imminent danger
• There’s enough information to aid in the child’s recovery

Once an alert is issued, Meta’s Global Security Operations Centre, which runs around the clock, will broadcast the alert to users in the designated search areas.

Director-General of the CID, COP Lydia Yaako Donkor, praised the move.

“When a child goes missing and is believed to be in imminent danger, we can now instantly alert people in the area through Facebook and Instagram, dramatically increasing the odds of a safe recovery. This reflects our commitment to innovation and child protection.”

Detective Dunstan Guba, who leads the AMBER Alert Ghana Team and hosts Cybercrime Alert on GH POLICE TV, highlighted the internal readiness of the police.

“We have a 24/7 AMBER Alert Team coordinated by our Missing Persons Unit. We’re fully equipped to issue immediate alerts and conduct thorough investigations to bring missing children home safely.”

Meta launched AMBER Alerts on Facebook in 2015 and extended them to Instagram globally in 2022.

The system has since contributed to hundreds of successful recoveries. With Ghana now joining and Messenger added as a distribution platform, Meta says it is deepening its commitment to child safety and law enforcement collaboration across the continent.