Millions of men, women and children are victims of human trafficking for sexual, forced labor and other forms of exploitation worldwide. The human and economic costs of this take an immense toll on individuals and communities. By conservative estimates, the cost of trafficking in terms of underpayment of wages and recruiting fees is over $20 billion.1 The costs to human capital are probably impossible to quantify. The problem of trafficking cuts across a range of development issues, from poverty to social inclusion, to justice and rule of law issues, and thus has relevance for practitioners throughout the development community. Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi spoke to Livia Wagner (Ms.), Head of Governance, Thematic Lead on Human Trafficking, Global Initiative Against Organized Crime and Prof. Joel Quirk, Political Studies, School of Social Sciences University of the Witwatersrand.