Nearly 5,000 Ghanaians have been repatriated since 2025 after encountering hardship, exploitation and other emergencies abroad, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has disclosed.
Addressing journalists on Monday, September 7, Mr Ablakwa said 4,972 citizens had returned through interventions coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghana’s diplomatic missions and international partners.
“Since 2025 to date, a total of 4,972 Ghanaians have been successfully repatriated to Ghana,” he said.
Libya accounts for most returnees
The largest group came from Libya, where 3,807 Ghanaians were assisted home. Another 440 returned from Côte d’Ivoire after falling victim to QNET related schemes or being affected by a demolition exercise.
Nigeria accounted for 246 returnees, also identified as victims of QNET operations. Ghana brought back 244 citizens from Cambodia and 201 from Algeria.
Smaller operations covered 18 people from Kuwait, eight from Sierra Leone, five from Mauritius, two from Morocco and one from Iraq.
Mr Ablakwa said the repeated missions had become costly and logistically demanding, strengthening the case for a Ghanaian Diaspora Consular Fund.
The proposed fund would give the government a reliable source of emergency financing when citizens require evacuation, legal assistance or other urgent support overseas.
He said the arrangement was needed to protect the “rights, dignity and welfare” of Ghanaians outside the country.
Minister warns against illegal recruiters
The minister also cautioned young Ghanaians against unlicensed recruitment agencies and trafficking networks advertising attractive jobs abroad.
Some of those operations, he said, had pushed Ghanaians into the Russia Ukraine war under deceptive circumstances.
“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 said.
The latest figure represents an increase from the 55 deaths reported in February, when Ghanaian officials said 272 citizens were believed to have been recruited and two had become prisoners of war.
Mr Ablakwa said negotiations with Ukrainian authorities for the release of the two detained Ghanaians were making positive progress.
The government, he added, had intensified its crackdown on illegal recruiters exploiting citizens with false promises of work and better living conditions abroad.
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