Child trafficking, worst form of child labour - Gender Minister

Issues of child trafficking is one of the worst forms of child labour, Gender Children and Social Protection Minister Cynthia Morrison has said on Tuesday, told Parliament in Accra.

She, however, gave the assurance that the Ministry was collaborating strongly with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to ensure that child labour was eliminated from Ghanaian communities.

The Minister was answering a question on the floor of Parliament, by Mr Alexander Roosevelt Hottordze, MP for Central Tongu on what steps the Ministry was taking to educate people along the Volta Lake on child trafficking.

Thereafter, she made a statement to mark this year’s International Women’s Day, also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women's Rights and International Peace. It is annually held on March 8 to celebrate women’s achievements in the social, economic, political and cultural fields across nations throughout history.

It is also used to renew the call to action towards achieving gender parity.

“We will strengthen our collaboration to continue the education of people along the Volta Lake and beyond on child trafficking,” Mrs Morrison said.

In February last year, the Ministry, with Ms Joycelyn Tetteh, the MP for North Dayi, embarked on community sensitization on issues of child trafficking and child labour in that Constituency.

The Ministry also observed the World Day Against Human Trafficking on July 30, 2019, at Yeji in the Pru East District in the Bono East Region to educate the people on the existing laws on the two social issues.

With the Human Trafficking Management Board it had jointly engaged communities at Kete Krachi, Sege, Senya Beraku, Prestea Huni Valley Nzema East, Tano North and Agona, on all forms of child labour, child trafficking and all forms of child exploitation with positive results.

“These efforts have yielded positive results,” she said, adding: “Some parents and stakeholders have changed their attitude and children have been brought back to their parents.

“Stakeholders are supporting the fight against Trafficking of Persons in these communities.”

Mrs Morrison said the Ministry monitored also the Ghana School Feeding Programme, for which it visited Dzemeni, a fishing community in the North Dayi District in the Volta Region and sensitised chiefs and queen-mothers on child labour and trafficking on the Volta Lake.

“As part of the exercise, I met with boat owners and fishermen and also visited the Lake. We found out that all the children were in school. They cited the school feeding and free SHS programmes as the contributing factor,” the Minister reported.