The University of Georgia said Tuesday it has been awarded $15.75 million from the U.S. Department of State to expand programming and research for fighting human trafficking.

The award comes through the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, or TIP Office, to the UGA-based African Programming and Research Initiative to End Slavery, the university said in a news release. The grant is to expand current anti-human trafficking work in Sierra Leone and Guinea, as well as efforts in Senegal.