Gender Ministry organises free health screening for kayayei

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has organized a free health screening and National Health Insurance (NHIS) card registration for ‘kayayei’ (head porters) and hawkers in the Awutu Senya Municipality in the Central Region.

The exercise, organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), was targeted at screening and registering 500 women as part of activities to commemorate the International Women's Day celebration.

The International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8, annually. This year's celebration is being held under the theme: "I am generation equality: realizing women's right".

Mrs Cynthia Morrison, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in a speech read on her behalf by the Director of Social Protection, said the exercise forms part of the Ministry's efforts to strengthen coordination of social protection implementation efforts.

She said women suffer several various forms of vulnerabilities and it is important all join forces to promote and support policies and interventions that seek to improve their welfare.

Mrs Morrison said kayayei and hawkers are often deprived due to factors beyond their control and thus, go through a lot in trying to make ends meet.

In line with the above, she said, the Ministry has put in place robust systems that have the potential to secure the welfare of all women and girls to bridge the gap as well as facilitate access to available social services such as education and health to empower them to participate effectively in the national development agenda.

She said the Ministry has developed various proposals and policies like the Affirmative Action Bill among others to support and promote the wellbeing of the vulnerable especially Kayayei and hawkers.

"Government would continually roll out policies and interventions for the wellbeing of all especially women.

"We as a Ministry cannot do this alone but require the commitment and support of all Ghanaians to enable us realize a Ghana where poverty and inequality is reduced to the barest minimum, and all are empowered to contribute their quota to national development," she said.

She urged parents to enrol their children in schools to ensure that they benefited from the School Feeding Programme as well as the Free Senior High initiative.

She also called on the public especially women to call the toll-free lines of the Ministry on 0800-800-800 or 0800-900-900 to lodge their complaints.

The kayayei and hawkers were educated on the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19), the signs and symptoms and how they could protect themselves from getting infected.