A UK government backed fund set up to combat modern day slavery across the world has announced a grant of up to 800,000 pounds each for a new set of projects, including one in India.
The Modern Slavery Innovation Fund (MSIF) supports international projects to find innovative ways of stopping modern slavery.
The MSIF on Friday announced up to GBP 800,000 each for projects across the world, including to the Freedom Fund working in India, a senior official said.
"Together with our frontline partners, we are providing essential support to victims of child labour, early marriage, forced labour, debt bondage and sex trafficking in high-prevalence areas of India and elsewhere," said Nick Grono, CEO of the Freedom Fund.
He said that this grant will enable us to develop and roll out a highly innovative, victim-centred joint service delivery model that combines the most effective anti-slavery approaches with international social care best practice.
"It will allow groups of grassroots organisations, as well as government agencies, to coordinate more effectively and provide greatly improved personalised care to victims and their families," he added.
The latest funding marks the second phase of the MSIF and will run until 2021. The first phase of the fund totalled 6 million pounds and supported 10 projects between March 2017 and 2019.
"Modern slavery is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable. It impacts on some of the most vulnerable people in the world, but also funds organised crime at home in the UK," said UK international development minister Penny Mordaunt.
"The UK aid will support the Modern Slavery Innovation Fund to trial new ways to stop this crime. By working across government and with businesses to end trafficking, we will create a safer and more prosperous world for us all," she said.
"Human trafficking, forced labour and exploitation are sadly not evils of the past, but are with us today. The government is leading the way through its work to end the horrors of modern slavery across the globe," UK minister for crime, safeguarding and vulnerability Victoria Atkins added.
India is among the countries, including Ethiopia, Mauritius, South Africa, Nepal and Malaysia, which are covered by the latest UK initiative to combat modern slavery around the world.
Through the 33.5 million pound Modern Slavery Fund, managed by the UK Home Office, the government is focusing on high risk countries from where victims are regularly trafficked to the UK, they said.
This global funding complements work being done within the UK and will help to catch offenders, support victims and stop people falling into slavery, they added.
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