Children between ages 5 to 17 still engage in child labour

By
Comfort Sena Fetrie, GNA
        

Tamale, June 20, GNA – Mr Kwebena Tutor,
Acting Country Director of the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) has
expressed worry about the continuous use of under age children in child labour.

He said the Ghana Labour Standard Survey has
revealed that about 1.9 million children aged between five to 17 years out of
the eight million nationwide were still engaged in child labour.

According to him, in the Northern Region about
13.8 per cent of children between the ages of five to 17 years do not attend
school.

Mr Tutor disclosed this during the Northern
Regional celebration of the African Union Day of the African Child held in
Tamale.

The Theme for this year’s celebration was
“Leave no child behind for African’s development” and aimed at raising
awareness about the need to protect and empower children.

The event been commemorated in the Northern
Region was organised by CCFC, World Vision, Camfed, RAINS, Actionaid, Right to
play, plan Ghana, UNICEF and the Department of Children, was to advocate for
the protection of children’s rights and equal opportunities.

It was also in line with resolution
CM/Res.1290 (XL) to commemorate the 1976 massacre of Soweto children, who
merely took to the streets to demand their right to racism-free education, in
the then Apartheid South Africa.

Mr Tutor stated that 13.7 per cent of the
children stay at home to assist with the household chores, while 31.2 per cent
of children were engaged in economic activity like kayayo due to increase in
poverty levels.

He said there was need for African governments
to prioritise children’s rights in the implementation and also to monitor the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure that no child is left behind.

He noted that children should be viewed as
agents of change and not merely as subjects of protection, especially
concerning the realisation of the SDGs.

Mr Tutor called on the government and other
stakeholders in the SDGs to broaden opportunities for children’s participation
in all 17 SDGs as they equally affect children.

He added that there was need to create
opportunities for children to express their views on the SDGs and to also
contribute towards the accomplishment of those goals for Africa.

Mr Salifu Saeed, the Northern Regional
Minister revealed that last year, 34 million children dropped out of school
according report on child wellbeing.

According to him, there were gaps in gender
because many cultures favoured boys than girls and it reflects in school
enrolment figures and also in employment opportunities available in the
country.

He noted that the government was working hard
to meet the SDGs by putting in place a lot of initiatives like free SHS policy.

GNA

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