Ashanti Regional Child Protection Committee reactivated

The Ashanti Regional Child Protection Committee which went dormant for a period, has been re-formed with a renewed mandate to oversee and improve the status of children.

The committee had Mr S. O. Appiah Kusi, Coordinating Director of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council, as Chairman and Mr Andrew Boye Agyemang, Ashanti Regional Director of the Department of Children as Secretary.

Other members of the committee include representatives from the Department of Social Welfare, Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice , Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), Prisons Service, Department of Women and Ghana Education Service.

Mrs Patricia Kyeremateng Berchie, Assistant Director of the Department of Social Welfare, speaking at the function, said the problems impeding the development of children include child labour, child trafficking, streetism, discrimination and others.

She said children needed to be given adequate protection to enable them enjoy their rights and status in society.

Mrs Berchie called on the committee to come out with pragmatic strategies and programmes to improve the health and education of children.

Mr Agyemang said children’s issues should be the concern of all and not the Department of Children alone and called on various stakeholders to assist in the protection of children.

Mrs Augustina Gyamfi, Ashanti Regional Director of the Department of Women, who chaired the function, appealed to non governmental organizations to support the Government to implement children’s programmes to improve their livelihood.

Source: GNA