Implement child protection laws in Ghana - PECMAN-GHANA

Programmes Coordinator for the Partners for Ending Child Marriage in Northern Ghana (PECMAN-GHANA) Adam .A. Fatawu has called on government and Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to maximize efforts to end child marriages in the country.

According to him, child marriage is a human right abuse against children and those who engage in the acts both (parents and men who marry these girls) should be made to face the available laws governing children’s right.

Mr.Adam said this when interacting with Journalists in Tamale.

He said Ghana is among country where child marriage is still very high despite efforts being made by government and its partner organizations.

He called for full implementation of the children’s act which seeks the well being of children in Ghana.

“At pecmanghana what we seek to do is to press for implementation of all laws meant to ensure that children on the country enjoy their basic human rights without any hindrance by their family or the society in which they live,” Mr. Adam noted.

He revealed that, one out of four children in Ghana marries before their 18th birthday.

“According to research done by UNICEF and other organizations, child marriage affects one out of very four children,” he cited.

He added that, about 700 million women living today are believed to been married before they turned 18 years according to research by UNICEF.

The Programmes Coordinator for PECMAN-GHANA indicated that child marriage affects children psychologically, emotionally, health as well as their social lifestyle.

He explained that, whiles the menace affects all children, girls are the most affected ones.

He said research done by the United Nations International Children Emergency Fun or UNICEF shows that, the three regions of the north namely, Upper East, Upper West and Northern are most affected regions in the country with Upper West leading in terms of figures.

The Programmes Coordinator noted, they were ready to work with organizations and government to eradicate issues of child marriage in Ghana and beyond.

Mr. Adam Fatawu also called on the media to help in spreading the effects and possible ways to minimizing the situation in the regions.

He appealed to chiefs and opinion leaders to join hands with government and NGOs such pecmanghana to fight against child marriage in their areas.

He advised girls to take their education serious since it is one of the many ways to ending the act.

He also appealed to the security agencies, especially DOVVSU to ensure that abusers don’t go free when they are being reported.

Partners for Ending Child Marriage in Northern Ghana or Pecmanghana is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) at seeks to ensure that child marriage becomes a history in the country.

The organisation is operating within the three regions of the Northern through advocacy, education, sensitization, workshops, media capacity building on human rights among others.