Alexander Mar Kekula, Country Director of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana, has called for stronger community support and sustainable funding to protect children at risk of losing parental care.

He said children were best protected when they lived in caring families and communities that looked out for their safety and well-being.

According to him, many children who lose parental care do not experience it suddenly. Instead, it often happens gradually due to poverty, neglect, violence or family problems that go unnoticed until it is too late.

Alexander Mar Kekula made these remarks on October 27, 2026, during the opening of a two-day stakeholder workshop organised by SOS Children’s Villages Ghana in Accra.

The first day of the workshop brought together participants from five implementing districts: Adaklu, Ada East, Ada West, Ekumfi and Sene West.

The event, held under the theme “Protecting children at risk of losing parental care,” attracted 90 participants, including District Chief Executives, District Coordinating Directors, Planning and Budget Officers, representatives of Civil Society Organisations, the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, and Community Child Protection Committees (CCPCs).

Alexander Mar Kekula said CCPCs played an important role in identifying and responding to child protection concerns because they worked closely with children, families and communities.

He explained that the committees could identify early signs of risk, refer cases to the appropriate authorities, mobilise community members and engage local authorities on issues affecting children.

However, he noted that the committees could only operate effectively and continue their work if they collaborated closely with District Assemblies.



He added that child protection concerns at the community level needed to be included in district development plans, budgets and service delivery programmes.

Alexander Mar Kekula said the workshop was aimed at improving cooperation among CCPCs, Civil Society Organisations and District Assemblies to ensure that child protection priorities were supported with evidence, proper cost estimates and sustainable funding in the 2027 district budgets.

He explained that the workshop would also help participating Assemblies identify and cost priority activities of the committees for inclusion in their annual action plans and composite budgets.

Additionally, he said the engagement would provide the Assemblies with reliable information on child protection concerns to help them understand the scale of the problems, improve case management and make informed decisions on planning and resource allocation.



“The time has come to move from policy commitments to predictable financing of child protection issues….Let us take the national conversation on child protection to the level where decisions are made, and money is actually allocated,” he said.

Alexander Mar Kekula appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to provide financial, logistical and other support to CCPCs to help them carry out their duties effectively.

Prof Lord Mensah, Head of the Office of the Head of the Local Government Service, attended the workshop as the guest of honour.

Addressing participants on the first day of the engagement, he said child protection should not be seen as the responsibility of only social welfare institutions, as it was also essential to local development and good governance.

“The entire local government itself recognises that child protection is not merely a social welfare issue. It is a development imperative. It is a governance issue. It is a human capital investment, and it is a collective responsibility,” he said.

The workshop also gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss how District Assemblies could work more closely with community-based groups to identify children facing risks and provide the support they need.

Also speaking at the engagement, Lucia Soleti, Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF, said Ghana had reached a level of maturity in child protection and urged the government to take the necessary steps to strengthen the country’s child protection system.