Ghana gov't, UNICEF call for increased investment in women, children

Ghana gov't, UNICEF call for increased investment in women, children
Ghana and UNICEF on Wednesday urged increased investment and protection for the West African country's women and children, particularly those in disadvantaged and deprived regions and districts.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Ghana and the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MoWAC) made the call at the official launch of their joint collaborative report christened 'Situation Analysis of Ghanaians Women and Children' here.

Addressing the function, Minister of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC) Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah noted that though the report gave a clear picture of some remarkable progress achieved by Ghana, some gaps and disparities existed between the various segments of the society that needed to be addressed.

"Despite the fact that a lot of successes have been chalked in this direction, earning Ghana international credit for having well developed institutional and legal framework and an overall welcoming environment for the advancement of women and children's interests, a lot more needs to be done," she stated.

She said a large number of Ghanaian women and children continued to face extreme poverty, deprivation and violence, adding: "As a country, we still face a lot of challenges in ensuring that our children enjoy their full rights as enshrined in our 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution, the Children's Act, 1998 (Act 560) and other national and international conventions and treaties."

Azuma-Mensah said the report provided a comprehensive overview including the latest data in economy, health, education, water and sanitation and child and social protection, and charged all partners, civil society, faith-based organizations and non-governmental organizations to help attain equity and equality.

"Undoubtedly, some progress has been made since the past ten years but we are the first to admit that a lot of work needs to be done,' she stressed.

Dr. Iyabode Olusanmi, country representative, UNICEF, said the analysis told a story of success, challenges and opportunities, showing the progress made to fulfill children's rights in Ghana.

"Relating this to the MDGs, Ghana has already met the MDG on poverty reduction, access to water and is close to meeting the MDG on school enrolment and reducing gender gap, at least for girls and boys in primary school, but there are challenges in meeting MDGs for maternal mortality reduction and access to improved sanitation," she noted.

Olusanmi said the analysis revealed the inequalities that existed in Ghanaian society, adding that national data and averages often masked significant disparities between regions and districts, between the rich and the poor families, boys and girls, and between children growing up in urban and rural environments.

She noted that the under-five mortality rate in Ghana had reduced from 155 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1980 to 80 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008.

However, mortality was higher in the rural areas (90/1,000 live births) than in urban areas (75/1,000 live births), she said, adding that mortality was higher for the poorest 20 percent of children (103/1,000 live births), compared to the wealthiest 20 percent of children (60/1000 live births).

Similar disparities, she noted, existed in education such that a girl from the poorest household in Northern region was nearly three times more likely to be out of school, compared to the national average.

UNICEF, she said, had adopted an equity-based approach to its programs and policies that sought to understand and address the root causes of inequity.

This is to ensure that all children, particularly those who suffer the worst forms of deprivations in the society have access to education, health care, sanitation, clean water, protection, and other services necessary for their survival, growth and development.

Editor: Xiong Tong

English.news.cn   2011-11-17 10:47:50 FeedbackPrintRSS
by Ray Ankomah

ACCRA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua)