Equip WAJU for effective work - Officer

Police Supt Kofi Darkey Aikins, Northern Regional Crime Officer, on Wednesday appealed to the government not to relent in its efforts to equip the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) in all the regions for effective work to combat atrocities against women and children.

Aikins, who is in charge of WAJU in the Region, made the appeal when he addressed a day's seminar on: "Impact of Violence on Women and Adolescents Reproductive Health" organized for 25 Police personnel in Tamale and sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF).

The seminar sought to train personnel of the Unit on the impact of violence on women and children and to see how best such violence could be dealt with in the region to eliminate such dehumanising activities.

The Officer said the Unit has been dealing with cases from the remotest areas of the region adding that it had recorded 139 cases of violence against women and children. He called for the establishment of WAJU offices in the districts so as to lift the burden of people having to travel to the regional capital to lodge complaints.

Akrofi Asiedu, Northern Regional Police Commander, said the Service would deal with anyone who tried to cover up people, who violated the rights of women and children.

He commended the Unit for organizing the seminar and advised the participants to take the seminar seriously to enable them to execute their duties when dealing with issues of women and children.

Alhassan Amadu, Northern Regional Population Officer, called on the people to give birth to the number of children they could adequately take care of. He said the Northern Region had the highest fertility rate in the country but unfortunately also had the highest rate of illiteracy and polygamous marriages.

Officials from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) educated the participants on the impact of violence on women and children.

Chief Superintendent Esther Appiah, Commander of WAJU, who co-coordinated the seminar, talked about: "Domestic Violence and the Rights of the Child".