Mekonnen, Wubegizer (PhD)Dewo, Zerihun2018-06-272023-11-062018-06-272023-11-062015-10http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/4287Background: Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.The International Labour Organization estimated that 20.9 million people are victims of forced labour globally includings victims of trafficking in persons though the number trafficked persons remains unknown.Some two thirds of the victims detected in Africa and the Middle East were children. Objectives: To explore the burden of adolescent trafficking and to describe its health and related consequences. Methods: A phenomenologic qualitative study using Focus Group Discussion (FGD), In-depth Interview (IDI) and key informants interview was used in Addis Ababa. Maximum variation and saturation of ideas were used to determine the sample size of FGD and IDI participants. Open Code Software were used to code and categorize texts and thematic content analysis to analyze the data. Result: The size of trafficking has been increasing; it is mainly done during holidays among dif-ferent community members. The major causes include, poverty, using motivational words and gifts for the family or the adolescents by brokers, family dissolution and absence of work oppor-tunities at the place of origin. The traffickers are holiday makers, family members, brokers and others. The traffickers prefer the absence of family members to persuade adolescents. The main consequences of trafficking include lack of proper food, clothe and shelter, exposure to hard la-bor, prostitution, drug addiction among others. They have been also exposed to different ill health conditions. Conclusion & recommendation: Most respondents reiterated that the extent of trafficking has been increasing due to a variety of reasons which forced adolescents to many ill conditions. Different community groups were victims and there are many role players. An integrated effort from all sectors to alleviate such a problem should be put in place to tackle adolescent trafficking.enAdolescent TraffickingThesis