Journalists urged intensify reportage on child labour
Journalists have been called upon to dig deeper into the fabric of society in order to expose all forms of societal abuse and child labour for national development.
Mr Emmanuel Kwame Mensah, Programme Officer for the International Labour Organization (ILO), made the call during a sensitization workshop organized by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) at Wa in the Upper West Region.
The objective of the workshop was to create a forum for Journalists to contribute to the implementation of the National Plan of Action (NPA) for the elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) in Ghana through enhanced media reportage.
It was also to equip Journalists with the requisite knowledge and skills that would enable them report effectively on issues of child labour.
Mr Mensah said issues of child labour affected not only the development of the child but also impacted negatively on the national economy adding that a total of 168 million girls and boys are engaged in child labour worldwide out of which one million come from Ghana.
“It, therefore, behooves on Journalists who are not only watchdogs of the society but also the voice of the voiceless to intensify efforts at exposing such WFCL and demand action”, he said.
Mr Mensah said in Ghana, child labour could be found in many areas of endeavor including agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors; mining and quarrying, fishing, customary or ritual servitude, human trafficking, domestic servitude, transportation of heavy loads and commercial sexual exploitation.
He said poverty, ignorance, misconception, apathy and negligence are some of the causes of child labour in the society.
Dr Domasus Tuurosong, a Senior Lecturer at the Wa campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS), commended organizers of the workshop and appealed to Journalists to develop interest in reporting on issues of child concerns.
He said issues of child labour are common in the Region especially in the rural communities and urged Journalists in the Region not to be discouraged by the challenges that characterized reporting on such issues but go the extra mile to expose them in the interest of children and the state.
Mr Sualah Abdul-Wahab, the Upper West Regional Secretary of the GJA, pledged on behalf of his colleagues, that increased attention would be given to the matter in spite of the daunting challenges that exist in the society.
Topics treated at the workshop include: “Concept, Causes and Consequences of Child Labour in Ghana”; “Child Labour Interventions in Ghana in the Context of the NPA on the Elimination of the WFCL”; “Relevance of the Network of SOMOPAC”; and the Role of the Media in the Fight Against Child Labour”.
Source: GNA