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In a major step to strengthen child protection efforts, the Ghana Police Service (GPS), in collaboration with tech giant Meta, has officially launched the AMBER Alert Ghana programme.
The initiative aims to swiftly locate and recover abducted children by broadcasting urgent alerts across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
The alert system is designed to notify people in specific geographic areas where a child has gone missing and is believed to be at risk of harm. Once triggered by the police, the alert appears directly in users’ feeds on Facebook and Instagram and as a notification on Messenger, significantly boosting the chances of reaching individuals who may have critical information.
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These alerts include key details such as the child’s photo, physical description, location of the abduction, and other identifying information to enable the public to recognise the child and respond swiftly.
Ghana becomes the 36th country globally and the fifth in Africa—after South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Morocco—to adopt the AMBER Alert system.
At the launch event on Wednesday, Commissioner of Police Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), hailed the initiative as a transformative moment in Ghana’s approach to child abduction cases.
“This is a new dawn in our shared commitment to protecting children,” she said. “The AMBER Alert system will greatly enhance our ability to rapidly engage communities, stakeholders, and law enforcement in the crucial early hours when a child goes missing.”
Highlighting the progress made so far, COP Donkor revealed that since the formation of the Missing Persons Unit four years ago, the GPS has successfully reunited 393 missing children with their families. “Each one of these figures represents not just a number but a life reclaimed, a family restored, and a community revived,” she noted.
She emphasised, however, that the success of the system will depend heavily on community involvement.
“The police cannot do this alone. We need the active cooperation of parents, guardians, community leaders, media, and every citizen. We must all remain vigilant and committed to safeguarding our children,” she said.
Meta’s Director of Law Enforcement Outreach, Emily Vacher, called the partnership with Ghana a landmark moment for the AMBER Alert programme.
“For the first time, alerts will be issued not only through Facebook and Instagram but also through Messenger—because when a child goes missing, every minute matters,” she stated.
Vacher paid tribute to Amber Hagerman, the 9-year-old girl whose abduction and murder in Texas in 1996 inspired the creation of the original alert system. “Back then, there was no efficient way to get vital information to the public quickly. Today, through digital platforms, we are able to deliver life-saving alerts directly into the hands of millions within minutes.”
“With this rollout, Ghanaians will now receive real-time alerts where they live, work, and travel—transforming public awareness into action,” she added.
The AMBER Alert Ghana programme is expected to enhance the national child protection infrastructure, empowering citizens and authorities alike to act swiftly in the face of child abductions.
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