Members of child rights protection network in the Upper East Region over the weekend met in Bolgatanga to streamline strategies to ensure that child labour and other abuses that affect the development of children are reduced to the minimum.
A report received from the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVSU) on the migration of children indicated that the Talensi-Nabdam, Kassena- Nankana and Bongo Districts had a high prevalence rate of child migration to other parts of the country to do menial jobs.
The report also indicated that two cases with a total of forty-six children who were all female coming from Kandiga, Sirigu, Mirigu and Bongo, were intercepted when they were on board vehicles travelling unaccompanied in 2009. It also indicated that the Human Traffic Unit between March and July this year also stopped 53
children from travelling.
Mr Cletus Abang, Deputy Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education and Chairman of the Network, said the children had changed their travel plans from the districts by
leaving school a week earlier to vacation to elude the police and child monitoring teams who monitor migration at school vacation time.
He said this was becoming alarming as most of the children went to neighbouring towns after the police and custom barriers to board the vehicles so they could dodge.
Whilst thanking the Upper East Regional branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the police for being alert on the issue, he urged all stake holders to put all efforts to reduce child labour.
He said child marriage, migration, trafficking, sexual exploitation and female genital mutilation were problems that the network needed to step up its activities on, and said activities of Child Protection Teams (CPTs) would be intensified to identify child rights issues in
the districts.
He urged all to take part in the forthcoming World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse to educate the public the public on the menace.