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Today, Meta in partnership with the Ghana Police Service announced the launch of the AMBER Alert Programme on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger in Ghana, with Messenger now joining as the latest platform to support the programme. The programme which is named AMBER Alert Ghana is aimed at helping to find abducted children in Ghana by sending AMBER Alerts to the local communities across all three platforms. This expansion will help widen the reach of alerts and get critical information to more people who may be in the search area for a missing child.
AMBER Alert is designed to increase the chances of finding missing children by putting more people on the lookout for them. When an AMBER Alert is activated by the Ghana Police Service, the alert will appear in the Facebook and Instagram Feeds of users, and as a notification on Messenger, within the designated search area. The AMBER Alert will contain all the necessary information about the missing child to help find him/her. This enables people to share the information instantly with friends or contact the police if they have leads.
The AMBER Alert will include important information about the missing child such as a photo description, location of the abduction, and other relevant and available information to aid in immediately identifying the missing child.
Speaking about the launch, Kojo Boakye, Meta Platforms Vice President of Public Policy, Africa, Middle East and Türkiye said, "We know the chances of recovering a missing child increase when more people are aware and can assist. This launch in Ghana, our fifth African country, alongside the expansion of AMBER Alerts to Messenger, reflects our deep commitment to child safety and to building safer communities across Africa and beyond. Every minute counts when a child is missing, and by reaching people across Facebook, Instagram, and now Messenger, we are demonstrating the power of technology and Meta's commitment to partnering with law enforcement agencies and others to help protect children."
COP Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service said "Starting today, when a child goes missing and is deemed to be in imminent danger, the Ghana Police Service can issue an Amber Alert that will be instantly shared with people on Facebook and Instagram in the targeted area, dramatically increasing the chances of locating the child quickly and safely. The introduction of Amber Alerts into our security and investigation frameworks reflects our commitment to innovation, collaboration, and child protection. This technology will help us act faster, reach further, and resolve more cases, ensuring that every missing child has a better chance of being found."
How AMBER Alert Works
The decision to declare an AMBER Alert is made by Ghana Police Service when investigating a suspected abduction case. They must first determine if the case meets their Amber Alert criteria, which includes:
The abduction is of a child age 17 or younger
There is reasonable belief that there has been an abduction.
The victim is believed to be in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or exploitation.
There is enough descriptive information about the victim and suspected abduction for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in recovering the child
Once these criteria have been met, Ghana police service will then notify Meta's Global Security Operations Centre, which operates 24/7, that a verified AMBER Alert is active. Meta will then send the alert to the News Feeds of people located in targeted search areas in Ghana.
"The Ghana Police Service has a dedicated 24/7 AMBER Alert Team made up of trained investigators on the system, coordinated by our Missing Persons Unit, to ensure that every report of a missing child is treated with urgency. We are fully equipped to send prompt alerts to the public when necessary and conduct swift, thorough investigations to help bring missing children home safely." Said Dunstan Guba who is a Detective, Cybersecurity Expert, Host of Cybercrime Alert on GH POLICE TV and AMBER Alert Ghana Team Lead with Ghana Police Service.
The AMBER Alert programme first launched on Facebook in 2015 and has since assisted in hundreds of successful child endangerment cases around the world. In June 2022, Meta expanded the AMBER Alerts Programme to Instagram globally. With the rollout of Messenger and Ghana joining as the 36th country and fifth African country following (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco), Meta continues to invest in technologies that help protect children and strengthen collaboration with law enforcement. By extending the programme to more platforms and regions, Meta aims to ensure critical information reaches people quickly—boosting the chances of safely recovering missing children.
