The objectives of this review, which was commissioned by the Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria, were to provide an independent assessment of the first phase of the Southern African Counter-Trafficking Assistance Programme (SACTAP I), and to appraise the proposal for a possible second phase.

SACTAP I was a two-year programme, implemented by the International Organisation for Migration and funded principally by Norway, addressing the problem of trafficking in women and children in Southern Africa. The programme combined research and strategy, public information, institutional capacity-building, and victim assistance.

Overall the team was impressed by its achievements of SACTAP I, especially taking into account the newness of the issue in the region. Without SACTAP, there would by 2006 have been less knowledge of the issue of trafficking in persons, less government and law enforcement action, and a weaker base for action against trafficking in the future.

The team appraised and recommended a second phase, which is now under implementation.