Gov't to act on child survival

Government is to take a definite and effective action next year to address problems that undermine the survival of children in the country.

As part of the programme, the School Feeding Programme in rural and urban poor areas would be launched in the country next year.

This is in response to findings by Ghana Demographic and Health Survey that 30 per cent while 11 per cent, of children under five were stunted in growth were severely stunted as a result of malnutrition.

Women?s and Children?s Affairs Minister, Gladys Asmah, disclosed this in a keynote address at the launch of the UNICEF State of the World?s Children Report 2005, in Accra.

She said the establishment of the Women?s Development Fund to allocate micro credit to women in order to address poverty and safeguard the development and growth of children in the country was in the right direction, adding the intention of the UN to declare 2005 as the year of micro credits, based on findings that 500,000,000 children, especially in developing countries, were under starvation, attested to this.

On HIV/AIDS, the Minister, said Ghana AIDS Commission in collaboration with her Ministry, had developed guidelines for programmes targeted at children orphaned by the pandemic in the country.