By Hafsa
Obeng, GNA
Accra, Oct. 15, GNA – Safeguarding the welfare
of children and their freedom of expression in the country, Mrs Florence Ayisi
Quartey, the Acting Director, Department of Children, at the Ministry of
Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), says, a collective approach is
needed to project and protect the welfare of children.
She said the Children’s Act, passed in 1998
binds leaders, parents, guardians and the country as a whole to protect the
child’s right and it is important that Ghana develops and strengthens existing
systems that would be more prevention focused towards the welfare of children.
“Every Child is entitled to express his or her
fundamental human rights, to function well in society but it is incumbent on
stakeholders to ensure these rights are enjoyed in a protected environment that
holistically conforms to the Child and Family Welfare Policy 2015,” she said.
Mrs Ayisi Quartey said this when she spoke on
behalf of Madam Gifty Twum Ampofo, the Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and
Social Protection at a Stakeholders Forum dubbed: “Access to Justice for
Youth and Persons with Disability in Ghana” in Accra.
Organized by Youth Bridge Foundation (YBF), a
youth focused Non-Governmental Organization committed to youth development in
the country, the forum followed-up on initial consultations and seeks to
validate the key messages developed from the Child and Family Welfare Policy
2015 as well as the “PUZZLED” drama series.
She expressed happiness about YBF’s
partnership with the Ministry towards the projection and promotion of the Child
and Family Welfare Policy 2015 and its timeliness as the Ministry is planning
towards public sensitization.
She commended Open Society Initiative of West
Africa (OSIWA) for the support to YBF.
Addressing stakeholders at the forum, Ms
Esther Yayra Attipoe, the Legal and Advocacy Manager of YBF, said increasing
awareness and deepening young person’s knowledge on the Children’s Act 560 and
the Juvenile Justice Act 653, is important.
She said the inclusion of Persons with
Disability (PWD’s) in sensitization engagements especially on the National
Child and Family Welfare Policy 2015 is timely.
Ms Attipoe, who is also the Project Manager of
“Access to Justice for Youth and Persons with Disability in Ghana”
implemented by YBF with funding from OSIWA,
explained that engaging younger persons with disability, on their rights
to participate in decision making processes at the local levels would create
the platforms for their engagements with local government officials.
She said in line with building on the
Foundation’s previous children’s right intervention, “Securing the Future
of Young People in Ghana through Improved Juvenile Justice
Administration”, is the second phase of the project rolled out.
With the overall objective of securing young
people in Ghana through improved Juvenile Justice as the inclusion PWD’s in
decision making processes “this new Project hopes to scale-up successes
and lessons learnt from phase one; basically, through advocacy for policy
makers to produce policies in accessible formats for young persons with
disability while consolidating key stakeholders’ engagement to deepen
ownership,” she said.
Mrs Attipoe said the ongoing Project is being
implemented in six districts in three regions of the country.
“These are Suhum Municipality and Akwapim
North district in the Eastern Region, Agona West and Cape Coast Metropolitan in
the Central Region and Ahanta-West and Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly
in the Western Region,” she said.
Mr Seth Oteng, the Executive Director of YBF,
said: “Our commitment to youth –inclusive development is critical for nation
building” stressing that opportunities must be equitably shared without any
discrimination.
“That is why YBF is championing policies
such as Right of the Juvenile to Justice to enhance youth development,” he
said.
Mr Oteng recounted how most of the time the
policies are difficult to be understood by the young ones, and called for
better capacity building approaches and platforms that would be used to engage
the youth in friendly discourse for better understanding of the countries
policies by young people.
He expressed worry about the lack of capacity
among the youth to appreciate the beautifully worded and well-intended policies
as well as the platforms to engage in discourse creating gaps in the
implementation of the Child and Family Welfare Policy.
He added that; “these gaps needs to be
addressed for the development of the youth.”
Touching on the “PUZZLED”, a drama
series based on key messages developed by YBF from the Child and Family Welfare
Policy 2015, that brings to bare some of the inhumane plights the youth are
exposed to in the country and set to be premiered by YBF, Mr Oteng said he was
looking forward to see the “PUZZLED” helping solve societal ills
confronting the youth in the country.
The 13-episode drama series, is an implemented
initiative of the YBF, and funded by OSIWA.
The forum brought together about 26
participants drawn from government machinery and agencies that included the
MoGCSP, Department of Social Welfare, Teachers and parents from Special Schools
in Project districts, youth-led community-based organizations as well as in and
out-of-school youth that included PWD’s.
As part of events marking the forum,
“PUZZLED”, which forms part of activities, marking the phase two
implementation of the “Access to Justice for Youth and Persons with
Disability in Ghana” Project was previewed.
YBF has the mandate of creating supportive
platforms to challenge the creativity of the youth, and to make available
critical information and resources needed for their total development.
As a youth focused group, it has the vision of
equipping the youth with appropriate information, platforms and resources that
would enhance their physical, mental and socio-economic well-being and further
help develop them into responsible adults.
GNA