Failure to report cases of abuse such as defilement, child marriage, child trafficking and labour as well as spousal abuse by people who witness them could implicate them when the perpetrators were caught up by the law, she added. 

Dr. Rita Owusu-Amankwah, Director of Social Protection, was speaking to the GNA on the sidelines of a day’s training workshop on the “Call Centre” for Regional and district Social Welfare Officers and some selected traditional and religious leaders and the Police Service from the Western and Central Regions.

The toll free Call Centre launched in December last year on lines 0800 800 800 and 0800 900 900  under its “Single Window Case Management System”,  enabled the public to call with any mobile network to report cases of abuse and any other social issues that worried them to the Ministry for onward redress.

The Centre had since its inception received among many other numerous calls with particularly high reported incidents on suicide attempts, spousal abuse and financial difficulties which the Department  had collaborated with stakeholders for effective redress.

Dr. Owusu-Amankwah explained that the training workshop was being organized across the country to throw more light on the activities of the Help Centre and to strengthen the Case Management System to help minimize the high level of abuse in the various communities.

She noted that citizens’ participation in social protection was very critical in its policy implementation and management and called on all well-meaning Ghanaians to partner the Ministry and play their respective roles to stop the menace. She pledged the Ministry’s commitment to collaborate with all stakeholders to achieve its mandate of ensuring social protection for the vulnerable in society and all citizens in general.

In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister of MoGCSP, Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba, said the collaborative efforts between the Helpline Hope Call Centre and District Social Welfare Officers had helped resolve many social issues across the country.

Madam Djaba enumerated successes chalked since the launching of the Helpline Call Centre to include the return of a 22-year old woman trafficked to Saudi Arabia who was severely maltreated.

This, she said, was achieved in collaboration with Ghana Police Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.

Others were the rescue of a 10-year old abandoned epilepsy girl who was currently in Osu Children’s Home many others. She therefore, urged the officers to sign on to the Call Centre for timely resolution of cases for the benefit of the vulnerable in the society.

The Hope Call Centre is an integral part of the Single Window Case Management system was initially instituted for people to lodge complaints on the Government’s five flagship programme on social protection for the Ministry to solve them.

They are the National Health Insurance, School Feeding, Capitation Grant, Labour Intensive Public works and LEAP social protection programmes.