The call was made by the Minister-designate of the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection (MoGCSP), Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu, at the 4th Session of the National Children’s Parliament and 5th anniversary celebration of the Ghanaian Against Child Abuse campaign (GACA) in Accra yesterday.

• Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu (inset) addressing the children’s parliament

The event was organised by the MoGCSP in partnership with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on the theme “Creating a safe and protective environment for children – Inclusion for every child” to commemorate the World Children’s Day which was marked last Sunday, November 20, 2022

Ms Abudu noted that there was a need for Ghanaians to renew their commitment towards the protection of all children and to ensure that all rights due them were fully implemented.

“The focus on inclusion is to stress the need for every child anywhere in Ghana to be protected from abuse, violence and decimation. This means that we leave no child behind,” she explained.

She said that the launch of the GACA campaign by the ministry marked a milestone in the protection of children as it provided several methods to protecting child rights in the country.

Database for tracking and analysing the progress of child protection activities across the country.

The acting UNICEF country representative, FiachraMcAsey, in his remarks noted that public awareness of child protection issues has been heightened as a result of GACA campaigns and other initiatives however there was still a high level of violence against children.

“There is less change in the use of corporal punishment and some social norms and attitudes which accept the use of violence against children remain entrenched,” he explained.

Mr McAsey pledged the UNICEF’s support towards policies and campaigns that are geared towards prevention, strong social and behavioural change approaches to address entrenched social norms.

“We will continue to lend support to cultivate an enabling environment for all children through stronger laws, policies, and efficient budgets, through stronger policy implementation, and service delivery on the ground and better access, better quality, inclusiveness and non-discrimination for all children, women and families,” he said.