Coalition on Child’s Rights supports attainment of SDGs
The agenda for the 17-point United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to encourage nations to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path.
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However, to meet the SDG targets by 2030, progress must be accelerated, particularly in the 47 least developed countries (LDCs), in the implementation of SDG development targets, since according to a UN report released in July, lack of funding was among the biggest challenges for the LDCs.
According to the 2015 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report, one out of every three children lived in poverty in Ghana. Furthermore, nearly 500,000 children between the ages of six and 14 were not in school and about 190,000 of these children were located in the three regions of the north.
The report also stated that Ghana had the highest rate of violence against children in the world.
Budgetary allocation
In support of efforts towards the attainment of the SDGs, the Ghana Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Coalition on the Rights of the Child (GNCRC) has advocated increased budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, as well as other relevant institutions to be able to effectively implement policies for children and ultimately help the country to meet some of the targets of the SDGs.
At the 20th anniversary celebration of the GNCRC in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, the coalition also called on the government to pay more attention to children’s issues in the 40-year National Development Plan.
The National President of the GNCRC, Mr Hussein Rahman, who made the call stressed the need for effective collaboration between the government and civil society organisations in the collection of data on children for effective implementation of policies for children.
Activities
The National Coordinator of the GNCRC, Mr Barima Akwasi Amankwaah, said the organisation had set in motion a number of projects since its establishment 20 years ago. They include a Juvenile Justice Project, Girls’ Power Project under which over 18,945 girls and young women have been trained to acquire skills, as well as building the capacities of duty bearers to help reduce violence against girls, with special emphasis on commercial sexual exploitation of children and child sex tourism.
"The coalition also boasts 10 regional GNCRC child rights clubs, as well as collaborating with Plan International Ghana and World Vision Ghana to start an initiative called the National Children and Youth Advisory Board platform," Mr Amankwaah stated.
Parents
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Rockson Bukari, announced that the government, with support from UNICEF, had established Regional Child Protection Committees to contribute to the promotion of child protection nationwide.
"Parents and families should, therefore, send their children to school to benefit from the social protection policies, including the Ghana School Feeding Programme and the free Senior High School programme which kicks off in September this year," Mr Bukari stressed.
The event attracted schoolchildren, teachers, civil society organisations and other relevant government institutions.