The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God church, Reverend William Dontoh, on Wednesday said eliminating abuses against women and children should not be left out in the country's quest to attain a middle-income status by 2010. He said the increasing rate of rape, child labour and human trafficking among other human rights violations were not encouraging in a country that had attained 50 years after independence. Rev. Dontoh said this in a speech read on his behalf at a graduation ceremony organised by the Assemblies of God Relief Agency and Development Services (AGREDS-Ghana for porters in Accra. It was on the theme: Ghana at 50, Reducing Girls Vulnerability to Trafficking: The Role of Skills Training and Input Credit". The 97 porters undertook a nine-month vocational training in dressmaking, catering and batik/tie and dye. He said although the passage of policy documents such as the Human Trafficking Act and the Domestic Violence Act were commendable, civil society and corporate bodies should support the crusade to do away with such inhuman treatment that women and children were often subjected to. The General Superintendent said the Church had not relented in efforts to support humanitarian services and provide hope to the vulnerable and street children since its establishment 75 years ago. Rev Dontoh called on government to pay more attention to the remuneration of teachers in vocational schools to enable them provide effective training to the youth to acquire skills. Mr Joseph K. Wumbee, Executive Director, AGREDS-Ghana, said statistics from the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment on child labour and trafficking were not encouraging as over 242,000 children between ages 13 and 17 were engaged in mining, fishing, quarrying and other economic activities. He expressed regret that human trafficking had now become a big business generating more than 32 million dollars annually for traffickers worldwide. Mr Wumbee said the grandaunts would be assisted with input, credit and micro-credit facilities to enable them start their own business after an additional one-year training. He commended the Church, the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) the Robertson Foundation, USA and other donor agencies for supporting the programme. Mrs Ruth Addison, National Coordinator, Early Childhood Development, Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs, said the Ministry had put in place a Human Trafficking Board and Secretariat to ensure that those who violated the Human Trafficking Law were dealt with severely. She said although policies to protect children were essential, there was the need to develop capacities of impoverished families to reduce the menace since poverty made people more susceptible to trafficking. Source: GNA