Ghanaians asked to help eliminate child labour - CHRAJ Director

Mr. Richmond Mensah, Effutu Municipal Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), has said that government has over the years put in place some interventions to eradicate all forms of child labour in the society.

He has, therefore, urged parents and guardians to reciprocate this gesture by ensuring that their children stay at home and attend school instead of engaging them in child labour to the disadvantage of their education.

Mr. Mensah made these remarks in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Winneba, to outline his programme for the celebration of World Child Labour Day in the Effutu District.

The celebration is under the theme: “Combating Child Labour Through Effective Social Protection".

He mentioned some of the activities for the celebration as free registration of children under 18 years on the National Health Insurance Scheme, LEAP, free maternal care, school feeding programme and the capitation grant.

Mr. Mensah said children, as future leaders of the nation, must be educated instead of allowing them to sell on the streets, or engage them in heavy duty jobs that can affect their health.

He said as part of the celebration his outfit in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and some child-centered non-governmental organisations, will organize durbars to educate the people on the need to avoid engaging children in labour.

The Effutu Municipality is among districts where children are sent for fishing along the Volta Lake, to the disadvantage of their education, he said.

The CHRAJ director said statistics from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) indicate that about 215 million children worldwide are currently engaged in various forms of child labour, adding that about 81 million children in South Sahara are also engaged in the similar activities.