Let us protect our children by making online safety a priority – EOCO boss 

COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, Executive Director of the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), has urged parents to protect their children and make online safety a priority.

She said the world was evolving at a pace with its technological advancement, and it was imperative for parents to set controls on internet usage to avoid children being lured away from home.

COP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah said this at the commemoration of International Missing Children's Day and a fundraising event organized by Missing Children Ghana, themed "Together for Tomorrow: Working Towards a Safe Future for Every Child."

She said the internet provided a lot of positive information but also had negatives, and all must build the confidence of children and encourage them to talk about any issues, no matter the gravity of the effect.

The EOCO boss also called on parents and family members to teach their wards their house locations, house numbers, telephone numbers, and parents' names.

She said, "If we can provide our children with this basic information, it will help law enforcement agencies to properly track missing children."

COP Tiwaa Addo-Danquah said EOCO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ghana Internet Safety, and the idea was to go to schools and train the children on how to be secured online.

"It will help them identify suspected online fraudsters and persons with bad motives. It is all part of the agenda against people going missing. It will go a long way toward helping them avoid certain sites and avoid talking to certain people," she said.

Regina Asamoah, founder of Missing Children Ghana, said International Missing Children's Day, which is May 25 every year, is commemorated to raise awareness of missing children, keep hope alive, and let their traumatized families know that efforts are being put in place to help bring their wards home.

"The issue of missing children is real; one missing child is one too many. Since we started work in May 2021, we have received over 700 reports (police extracts) and have been able to reunite over 300 children with their families from 2021 to 2024," she said.

She said that thousands of children across Ghana who are not orphans have been found in orphanages, adding that people could go to their website, www.missingchildrenghana.com, and report a missing child.

She said the funds Missing Children Ghana raised at the event were to support an educational project where their team of experts would visit schools to educate children on safety measures in the Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, and Volta Regions.

"The gap we have seen is that a lot of children don't know the basic details about their families and about themselves. We are targeting GHS20,000 per region. The funds will cover the cost of training manuals, educational materials, and logistics," the founder said.

The event brought together stakeholders like UNICEF, the Department of Social Welfare, Plan International Ghana, and other agencies that gave support to the Missing Children agenda.