Veep urges media to create awareness on child rights

Vice President Kwesi Amissah Arthur on Tuesday made an appeal to the media in the country to help create awareness among the public on child rights.

Vice President Kwesi Amissah Arthur made the call on Tuesday when launched the Child and Family Welfare Policy (CFWP)which, among other things, establishes an effective child protection system in the country at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).

He said Children in Ghana continue to face numerous challenges including maltreatment, corporal punishment, domestic violence, sexual abuse and exploitation and had recourse to a protection system that only responded when the children had suffered some harm, adding that the policy would help in a long way to solve the problem of the State.

Mr. Amissah Arthur said this in drawing up the policy which was developed by the Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry to promote a reformed child protection system in Ghana through child and family welfare programmes.

He said there was a multi sectorial advisory committee with over 7000 Ghanaians from all walks of life including children have been consulted and their input were factored into the policy.

He said it will also undertake activities which will effectively prevent and protect children from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and also set a new standard in child protection charter which was reviewed.

Vice President added that the new policy direction for children in Ghana became necessary as a result of the challenges that children, parents and state institutions responsible for children continue to face in spite of all their best efforts to ensure the best interest of the children in the country.

This he said had become necessary because our child protection system was not very effective in preventing the negative consequences that the children suffered, so it has become imperative that government took urgent steps to review that entire child protection system and put in place one that was fit for Ghana and designed to be more proactive in preventing child abuse and exploitation.

Vice President Amissah Arthur further said the new policy also seeks to reform existing laws and policies to conform to the new vision for child and family welfare in the country, hence the need to ensure the provision of adequate resources for the functioning of the child and family Welfare service at all levels.

He also took the opportunity to acknowledge the support from UNICEF and other development partners and civil society organizations for their remarkable contributions and on behalf of the people of Ghana expressed his sincere gratitude for the help and effort that they had put in to make the policy a reality.

Vice President Kwesi Amissah said it was therefore his greatest privilege and honour to officially launch the child and family welfare policy to usher in a new dispensation in child policy in Ghana.