UNVTF Awards Grants to Six Additional NGOs Under Fourth Grant Cycle

© iStockphoto / RuslanaQuispe

Vienna (Austria), 11 December 2020 — The UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking (UNVTF), managed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has announced that a further six projects from its Reserve List have been selected for funding.

Under sub-grant programme two of its fourth call for proposals, these non-governmental organization (NGO) projects will provide medium-term direct and comprehensive assistance to vulnerable victims of trafficking in persons, for a duration of up to two years.

The funded projects represent the Trust Fund’s ongoing commitment to delivering swift humanitarian aid through NGOs that operate on the front lines, safeguarding the most fundamental rights for all.

In 2020, the Trust Fund operated three separate grant windows under the fourth call for proposals, with emergency and longer term capacity building grants attracting a record number of expressions of interest from 268 NGOs across 64 countries; the largest outreach effort and response thus far for any single call for proposals throughout the 10-year lifespan of the Trust Fund.

In total, the Trust Fund awarded grants to a record 32 projects from 24 countries that provide support to human trafficking survivors globally, totalling USD 1.4 million in 2020. This includes the following six additional NGOs which now join the growing list of grantees under sub-grant programme two:

Action for Development of Local Communities (ADOL) (Uganda): This project will provide direct assistance and protection services to 1000 trafficked girls in Kampala (Uganda), including medical support, sustainable livelihood support, rescue and family reunification.
Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal (TPO) (Nepal): This project aims to provide psycho-social rehabilitation to trafficking in persons survivors with a focus on prevention of re-trafficking, protection, promotion, reunification and repatriation of survivors with their families.
Munasim Kullakita Foundation (Bolivia): The thematic focus of this project is on the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and adolescent girls in Bolivia, providing support services to victims from assistance to economic empowerment.
City Hearts UK (Ghana): This project works directly with victims in Ghana, supporting them in their recovery and helping to integrate them back into society. Victims are offered therapeutic intervention strategies including psychotherapy, group therapy and hampers of clothing, food and toiletries.
Bureau National Catholique de l’Enfance du (BNCE) (Togo): This project aims to reduce the worst forms of trafficking in persons in Togo through the provision of medical, psychosocial, and legal support, as well as social and educational reintegration for child victims.
Citizens’ Association for the Fight Against Human Trafficking and All Forms of Violence against Women (ATINA) (Serbia): The project “From Enslaved to Empowered - Improving the Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Serbia” aims to provide long-term assistance and support to trafficked persons and those at risk, ranging from effective identification to essential services based on their needs.

Through its small grants programme, the Trust Fund remains at the vanguard of the COVID-19 crisis in supporting grassroots organizations worldwide to respond to the needs of a greater number of victims.

Under its emergent aid window of sub-grant programme one, the Trust Fund awarded grants to front-line NGOs working with survivors amid the pandemic, at a time where it is becoming increasingly difficult for the most vulnerable in society to be recognized as victims of this hidden crime.

The Trust Fund launched its Fifth Call for Proposals on 1 December 2020. The deadline for receipt of applications is 31 January 2021, 23:59, Central European Time. Visit our website here for further details.

Further information:

The United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund (UNVTF)
Learn more about the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund (UNVTF)