MELR HOSTS PARTNERS FORUM ON THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD LABOUR IN GHANA

On Tuesday, 20^th August 2024, the Child Labour Unit, under the Labour Department of  the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, (MELR) held a one-day Partners' Forum at the Coconut Groove Hotel in Accra to present the 2023 Annual Child Labour Report and also discuss the current state in the fight against child labour in Ghana.

The Chief Director for the Ministry, Mr. Kizito Ballans, welcomed all participants to the Forum and stressed the importance of working together to achieve a common goal. He highlighted the Forum’s objectives, which were to present the 2023 Annual Child Labour report, provide an overview of the current child labour status, and identify areas for improvement to achieve the goals set by the Ghana Accelerated Action Plan Against Child Labour (GAAPACL), thus the New NPA III.

As part of the opening remarks, the representative from the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Madam Lucia Soleti, urged participants to think creatively about collaborative efforts at both the national and sub-national levels. She mentioned that UNICEF is working closely with the Ghana Government to conduct a standardised survey that will provide fresh data on child labour in the country. The survey aims to measure tangible progress in reducing child labour. She added that UNICEF remains open to learning from partners to create synergies that will enhance efforts to combat child labour in all its forms.

The representative of the Internation Labour Organisation (ILO), Dr. Akua Ofori Asumadu, the Ghana Project Coordinator for the Trade for Decent Work Project (T4DW) emphasised on the extensive work done in partnership with the Ghana Government, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) since Ghana joined the ILO in 1957. She pointed out that the primary drivers of child labour are poverty, cultural beliefs, and weak institutions. According to her, providing decent work opportunities for all Ghanaians is crucial in reducing child labour. This menace, she also explained, were the reasons why the ILO assisted the MELR to develop the Hazardous Activity Framework (HAF)as well as supporting the ratification and reporting on ILO Conventions 182 and 138.

The GIZ’s Technical Advisor, Mr. Eleazer Tackie, also addressed the Forum on the new trade regulations which requires cocoa to be free from child labour and emphasised GIZ's commitment to help eliminate child labour in cocoa-growing areas by setting up monitoring systems.

Mr. Emmanuel Boasiako Antwi, a Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant of the Child Labour Unit, highlighted the importance of collaborating with partners to train sub-national labour and statistical officers on issues related to child and forced labour.

He reported that out of the number of partners available, only 28 partners/institutions had submitted reports to the Child Labour Unit (CLU). He added that though the CLU is working assiduously to address data quality issues, verifying certain data, such as the number of people reached through radio programmes remains a challenge.

Madam Esther Ofori Agyemang, Head of the CLU called on all stakeholders to continue to work in harmony to overcome the challenges and barriers hindering the implementation of the GAAPACL (NPA III). She expressed her deepest gratitude to all partners for their active and interactive participation and urged them to continue to collaborate efforts to eradicate child labour across all sectors of the economy.

The event brought together over 120 key stakeholders, including Government Officials, International Organisations, NGOs, and CSOs, to foster dialogue on how to tackle child labour in the country.