The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, says 4,972 Ghanaians have been repatriated from various countries to Ghana since 2025.
He said the repatriations followed interventions by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghana’s diplomatic missions and international partners to assist Ghanaians who found themselves in distress abroad.
Addressing journalists on Monday, September 7, Ablakwa said, “Beyond the recent evacuations from South Africa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its diplomatic missions and our international partners have actively intervened across multiple countries to repatriate Ghanaians in distress. Since 2025 to date, a total of 4,972 Ghanaians have been successfully repatriated to Ghana.
“This figure is an accumulation of the following: 3,807 from Libya, 440 from Côte d’Ivoire (victims of QNET and demolition exercise), 246 from Nigeria (QNET victims), 244 from Cambodia, 201 from Algeria, 18 from Kuwait, 8 from Sierra Leone, 5 from Mauritius, 2 from Morocco and 1 from Iraq,” he stated.
Mr Ablakwa said the recurring repatriation operations placed a significant financial and logistical burden on the government, making it necessary to establish a Ghanaian Diaspora Consular Fund.
According to him, the proposed fund would provide a dedicated and sustainable emergency funding mechanism to enable the government to respond promptly to situations involving Ghanaians in distress abroad.
He said the fund would help Ghana mobilise resources to safeguard the rights, dignity and welfare of its citizens.
The Foreign Affairs Minister also cautioned Ghanaians, particularly the youth, to be wary of illegal recruitment agencies and human trafficking networks that lure people abroad with promises of better opportunities.
He said similar schemes had contributed to the involvement of some Ghanaians in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, resulting in deaths and detentions.
“It is a similar situation that has led to 62 Ghanaians losing their lives in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with another 15 missing.”
Mr Ablakwa added that two Ghanaians were currently being held by Ukrainian authorities as prisoners of war, although negotiations for their release were progressing positively.
He said the government had intensified efforts to clamp down on illegal recruitment agencies and human trafficking networks responsible for exploiting unsuspecting Ghanaians.
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