Child Rights International pledges support for toddler mauled by dog
Child Rights International (CRI) has said that it would ensure that the child who was mauled by a dog receives the appropriate treatment and compensation for his injuries and any trauma the incident may have caused him.
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Already, corrective surgery has been performed on the two-year-old boy to repair the damage caused to parts of his bottocks and the flesh around his testicles after the dog attacked him at a warehouse at Madina, leaving him in a very critical condition.
Presently, the passage for stool has been diverted to his abdomen to allow the anus to heal very well.
Child Interest
The Executive Director of the child interest non governmental organisation, Bright Appiah, said his outfit was waiting for the outcome of a comprehensive assessment and recommendation from the medical doctors, to determine the next line of action or help to give to the boy.
“We will do everything to prevent anything that will negatively affect the future of the child.” In an interview with the Daily Graphic Mr Appiah said his organisation had shown interest in the matter, and was awaiting the conclusion of the professionals handling the situation, which would inform the "right approach and the needed assistance”.
Professionals
Mr Appiah said the organisation would also provide assistance, be it legal, social or financial, stressing that the “most important thing is that we want to hear from the professionals and if there is any need for us to support, we will gladly do it”.
"It also depends on how badly the boy is injured and if we have to seek damages for the child, we will do that because taking care of the child medically is the first step that the child must go through and if we realise that the condition of the child will deny him a certain ability in the future, then of course, damages must be sought for the child if the parents are willing to take that angle” he said.
"We want to make it clear that the final report of the doctors will determine if the child will not be able to perform certain duties in the future as a result of the attack and if he will lose the ability to perform certain functions, we are ready to assist."
Domestic Accident
The executive director said although the situation was a domestic accident, the welfare of the child was necessary and must be taken into consideration by the owner of the dog and the parents.
Mr Appiah expressed concern that the welfare of domestic staff had always been taken for granted, not having any form of social security protection. "I am saying this because there are a lot of children between 14 and 17 who are engaged in domestic work in Ghana without social security and health insurance to rely on, so it's important for the state to look at these things to guarantee the safety of domestic workers," he said.
Mr Appiah appealed to the government and labour to ensure that casual and domestic workers benefitted from Social Security and National Insurance Trust packages.