Remove factors that threaten survival of kids

Ekumfi Ekrawfo (C/R), June 17, GNA - Ghanaians have been encouraged to urgently work towards the removal of factors which inhibit the developmen t of children. These include: Ignorance, Poverty, Poor Environmental Conditions, Outmoded Socio-Cultural Practices, Deprivation of Education, HIV/AIDS and

General Parental Neglect.

Mr Sulemana Gbana, the Mankessim Programme Area Manager of Plan Ghan a, who gave the advice, said these conditions were seriously threatening the

survival and development of over a million children in Ghana. Mr Gbana was addressing a ceremony to mark the AU Day of the African Child at Ekumfi Ekrawfo in the Mfantseman Municipality. June 16, has been instituted by the African Union, (AU) as a Day for

the African Child to commemorate the killing of over 100 children, in Soweto, in 1976.

The children were staging a peaceful protest against discrimination and injustice, being meted out by the then by South African Apartheid Government. The theme for the celebration this year is: "Budgeting for Children' s Rights."

Mr Gbana said the theme explained what Plan Ghana, an international child-centred community development, organisation stood for. He said the organisation strived to achieve improvement in the quali ty of life of deprived children in developing countries through a process th at united people across cultures and added meaning and value to their lives. The Manager expressed regret that though Ghana was the first countr y, which ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, many children in the country were deprived of their fundamental rights ju st because they were children. He appealed to Districts Assemblies and the Central Government to allocate enough resources for the development of children. Miss Doris Ofori, a student of Baifikrom Junior High School, and a Children Rights Advocate, appealed to Budget Officers of the District Assemblies to liaise with children to know their priorities before prepar ing budgets for the Assembly.

Mr Osborn Amonoo, Mfantseman Municipal Director of the Department of

Social Welfare, and Mrs Rose Otoo, Assistant Director of Education at the

Municipal Education Directorate, spoke on Responsible Parenting. Mr Amonoo urged parents to stop spending too much resource on drinks

and clothing at the expense of maintaining their children. Mrs Otoo reminded parents that children were gifts of God to them, therefore, God would reward them if they took good care of them and punis h them if they neglected them. Mr Francis Zuradam Saareson, the Municipal Disease Control Officer, said nutritional-related diseases such as anaemia and kwashiorkor, were h igh in the Municipality and appealed to parents to budget for the diet and health needs of their children. Mr George Yorke, advocacy and governance Advisor of Plan Ghana, urge d the assemblies to attach importance to the upcoming Population and Housin g Census to enable them to know the number of children in their districts s o that they could budget adequately for their needs. Mr Charles Boazor, Deputy Municipal Coordinating Director, called on

parents to stop discriminating against children in the allocation of resources for the home. 17 June 10