
Ghana’s obligation to tending to child labour is lined up with the cutoff time for the accomplishment of Sustainable Development Goals Target 8.7.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations revealed that, this responsibility is strengthened by the number of regulations the country has passed, including the Children’s Act of 1998 (Act 560), Ghana National Social Protection Policy, Ghana School Feeding Programme and the National Plan of Action (NPA I and II), all aimed at eradicating child labour.
These statements were made at an engagement seminar on the Ghana Accelerated Action Plan Against Child Labour on Tuesday, 24th October at Labadi Beach Hotel.
According to Mr. Ballans who spoke for Ghana’s minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the ministry wouldn’t invest wholeheartedly in just having great regulations and policies but how well these policies are implemented and the impact they have on children should be their major objective.
He spoke about the need for financial, logistical and technical support, suggesting the establishment of a multi-stakeholder financing strategy with clear implementation and accountability mechanisms.
Ghana And IFC’s Inaugural Prosperity Dialogues. This Is What Ensued
Also, the Acting Head of the Child Labour Unit, Madam Esther Ofori Agyeman, shared insights into child labour interventions funded by donors and industry partners in collaboration with government institutions.
She emphasized the need for a Child Labour Fund and a multi-stakeholder financing mechanism to pool resources to implement the action plan.
Madam Agyeman, stated that partners’ commitment to combating child labour in the medium term was essential to sustain the gains made under the National Plan of Action Two (NPA 2) and to significantly improve upon past efforts.
She emphasized the significance of NPA as the overarching strategic document and called for the collective buy-in of all stakeholders to ensure its successful implementation. Implementing these interventions, she added, would have a national-level impact on the fight against child labour.