2 million Ghanaian kids are engaged in child labour – UNICEF

Mr. Antoine Deliege, Child Protection Specialist from the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that two million Ghanaian children are engaged in Child Labour, thus debarring them from quality education and healthcare.

According to him, it is estimated that two million children in Ghana are engaged in Child Labour, with 50% of them working in hard labour conditions, whilst 38% have been trafficked and enslaved or found themselves in distress migrations.

Nevertheless, Mr. Deliege indicated that UNICEF is always prepared to support programs that aim at protecting children and the vulnerable across the world and that, he was hopeful the collaboration would help reduce child labour in the country.

He made these declarations during the official launch of Planned Livelihoods for Economic Development and Global Equity (PLEDGE) Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), which seeks to combat the worse forms of child labour in 20 communities and ten MMDAS in Ashanti and Upper West regions of Ghana.

PLEDGE Ghana would provide 2,600 children with various services, with livelihood components targeted at parents and guardians as well.

Antoine Deliege noted that the launch of the project marked an important milestone in the fight against child labour in the country, which has 30 per cent representing two million children still engaged in child labour.

The Asokore Mampong Municipal Director of Social Welfare and Community Development, Mrs. Esther Apraku Nyarko, stated that child labour is a serious problem in various communities that present little hope for the future of the country.

In a crusade which is supported by the United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF), she noted that the menace should be tackled with a sense of urgency with collaboration between non-state and state agencies providing strategies to combat it

The Executive Director of PLEDGE Ghana, Mr. David Atiga, indicated that the project was also expected to provide technical assistance to stakeholders including parents, guardians and Social Welfare. He was optimistic that efforts to eliminate or minimise child labour in the country would achieve results in the future.

According to him, education is the only tool that would help enlighten the children and get them away from the worse forms of child labour, adding that parents and guardians should take advantage of free Education in the country.