Terre des Hommes Netherlands Urges Stronger Protection of Children Along Transport Corridors

Terre des Hommes Netherlands Kenya team participated in the 2nd Transport Corridors & Health Conference held at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Nairobi, Kenya. 

The conference, held from 8–10 December 2025 under the theme “Innovations and Partnerships for Healthy and Prosperous Corridors,” brought together industry leaders, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and community advocates to address the complex and pressing challenges facing Africa’s transport supply chains.

The three-day conference was organised by the North Star Alliance and the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA), in partnership with Terre des Hommes Netherlands and other stakeholders.

The conference was officially opened by the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Health, Hon. Aden Duale, who reaffirmed the Government of Kenya’s commitment to strengthening health systems along transport corridors. He emphasised the critical link between mobility, health, and regional prosperity, noting that “healthy corridors are productive corridors,” and highlighted Kenya’s progress in cross-border surveillance and the establishment of a regional genomic laboratory for early outbreak detection.

A Call to Prioritise Child Protection Along Transport Corridors

Speaking at the conference, Magdalene Wanza, Country Director, Terre des Hommes Netherlands, underscored the urgent need to prioritise child protection along transport corridors.

“Over the years, children have consistently told us to listen to them, influence others to change, and always do the right thing. That is exactly what we are doing,” Ms Wanza stated.

Ms Wanza noted that the conference provided a critical platform for stakeholders to reflect on child protection concerns within transport corridors. “We are encouraged that discussions on transport corridors and health are not happening in isolation from other development priorities, particularly protection for vulnerable populations such as children, women, and persons with disabilities,” she said.

She emphasised that while transport corridors are vital economic zones and sources of livelihood for many families, they can also become high-risk environments where children are vulnerable to exploitation. 

Ms Wanza highlighted the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration and awareness creation among drivers, traders, health workers, and local authorities to transform these high-risk areas into networks of safety for children.

“Our interventions along transport routes, from strengthening community-based child protection systems near trucking pathways to establishing safe and accessible reporting mechanisms, aim to ensure that transport corridors become protective rather than dangerous spaces for children,” she added.

Addressing conference participants, Ms Wanza urged stakeholders to prioritise research involving at-risk children and survivors to better understand the drivers of child trafficking and sexual exploitation. She noted that trauma-informed research with survivors is essential for identifying gaps in service provision and referral mechanisms, and for informing the design of targeted and effective prevention programmes.

She further called on civil society organisations to advocate for accountability and adequate resource allocation for child protection along transport corridors, share data, evidence, and best practices to inform national action, and strengthen partnerships for coordinated awareness, reporting, and survivor support.

Ms Wanza also urged criminal justice actors, including the Police, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), and the Judiciary, to prioritise the investigation and prosecution of child exploitation cases, ensure child-friendly procedures during reporting, rescue, and testimony, and dismantle networks facilitating child trafficking and sexual exploitation in transport hubs.

Additionally, she challenged private sector and transport service providers, including truckers, boda boda operators, public service vehicle (PSV) operators, hospitality establishments, and logistics companies, to adopt and enforce Child Protection Codes of Conduct. She called for staff training to enable operators to identify, prevent, and report sexual exploitation, and to refuse services to individuals suspected of exploiting children.

Terre des Hommes Netherlands team further urged the Northern Transport Corridor and its member states to increase investment in child protection systems along transport corridors. This includes strengthening staffing, establishing safe shelters, enhancing awareness on child rights and surveillance, expanding health services for both corridor users and host communities, particularly child- and youth-friendly services, and enforcing existing laws and regulations on trafficking, child labour, and child sexual exploitation.