Article: Salome Donkor
The story of Florence Adjokatcher, a young female graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), who took to frying yam, while schooling at the GIJ, is quite intriguing.
While schooling at the GIJ, Florence combined her education with frying yams opposite her school, to offer her colleague students, something to bite while on break.
With focus, perseverance and a sense of direction, Florence undertook the business, which did not only make her fulfil her desire to pursue her own ideas, but she also received financial reward for the service being rendered.
The young entrepreneur shared her experience with a group of 20 participants who attended a two-day workshop to equip them with entrepreneurial skills. The workshop, dubbed “Women on the Move”, was organised with support from Vital Voices Global Partnership of the United States of America (USA).
The participants were made up of unemployed graduates who hold Higher National Diploma (HND) from various tertiary institutions.
The programme was the initiative of Ms Hillary Gbedemah, a former legal awareness officer of the Volta Regional Office of the Women in Law and Development (WiLDAF), Ghana.
Taking the participants through ‘introduction to entreprenuership’, a lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Captain Sam Addae (retd), said entreprenuership is a world-wide phenomenon and is the driving force behind small businesses.
He said while an inventor creates something new, an entrepreneur puts the resources together for the invention and sets up a viable business.
Capt Addae (retd) said entrepreneurs are creative, put useful ideas into practice and are willing to take risks, which he described as “calculated risk”.
He also spoke about the three reasons why people want to become entrepreneurs and mentioned the desire to be their own bosses, pursue their own ideas and financial rewards which, he said, come as a result of services being rendered.
He said entrepreneurs have a responsibility not to themselves but to the society and mentioned passion for business, product customer focus, tenacity despite failure and execution intelligence as the four steps for successful entrepreneur.
Ms Gbedemah said she undertook the programme as a result of her resolve to work in pursuit of promoting gender mainstreaming, which requires total commitment and adherence to policies and programmes that will promote investing in policies and programmes to empower women and promote gender equality.
She said the programme was designed to help unemployed young women aged between 22 and 30 to identify their potential and obstacles to achieving their goals.
Ms Gbedemah, who presently works with the Law Institute, said she had been involved in issues related to women’s rights for many years and had found out that a lot of women were in a ‘tight corner’ because of lack of empowerment.
“I observed that a number of unemployed women only needed to be assisted to develop business plans and ideas to go into small-scale businesses,” she said, adding that “these women want jobs but they lack the ability to do the small things they can do as entrepreneurs”.
She said the training programme was an opportunity for participants to learn how to draw business plans that were feasible and types of businesses that were viable, and acquire start-up capital, as well as get enlightened on the advantages of record keeping.
The participants were also taken through the legal framework of business, business arrangements and registration, purchasing and registration of property, sample tenancy agreements, basic finance and developing business plans.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Making international aid gender-sensitive- The EC/UN Partnership (Daily Graphic, 08/19/08. Page 11)
Story: Salome Donkor
Between September 2 and 4 this year, ministers from over 100 countries and heads of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, donor organisations, and civil society organisations from around the world will assemble in Accra for the third High-Level Forum on aid effectiveness.
The conference is being held in recognition of the need to reform the process of development assistance to make it more responsive to the needs of developing countries and marginalised people in their fight against poverty by making aid more transparent, accountable and results-oriented.
The move towards a more equitable and gender responsiveness in the aid agenda over the years resulted in a conscious effort by the international community to reform the ways through which aid is delivered and managed.
They recognised that while the volumes of aid and other development resources must increase to achieve these goals, aid effectiveness must increase significantly, as well as support partner country efforts to strengthen governance and improve development performance. This is aimed at increasing the impact of aid in reducing poverty and inequality, increasing growth, building capacity and accelerating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The commitment to achieve improved aid effectiveness and results was concretised in the late 1990s, when donors/aid agencies, in particular, began working with each other, and with partner countries, to harmonise these approaches and requirements.
The movement picked up steam in 2002 at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, and the last five years have been marked by a number of initiatives towards establishing a new aid architecture.
This culminated in a High-Level Forum on Harmonisation in Paris in March 2005, attended by heads of multilateral and bilateral development institutions, who resolved to take positive steps to reform ways to aid delivery and management.
The High-Level Forum followed up on the adoption of a Declaration that has come to be known as the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The declaration is grounded on five mutually reinforcing principles: Ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability.
As part of a programme to enhance the knowledge of the media in understanding the issues concerned with aid effectiveness, the European Commission (EC), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITC-ILO) have launched the EC/UN Partnership on Gender Equality for Development and Peace.
The partnership is to support stronger action on gender equality and women’s human rights in national development process and in co-operation programmes supported by the EC.
Consequently, a one-day training workshop was organised for journalists in Accra, to provide the opportunity for participants to interact and share ideas on international aid and development issues and to break down the technical terms of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
The participants, made up of representatives from both the print and electronic media, maintained that no country could attain accelerated development if a segment of the population was not involved in the planning and implementation of the development process.
They said it was necessary to ensure that women, who constitute more than half of the population of a number of countries, were involved in development plans, while aid was implemented to meet the different needs of men, women, children and people with special needs.
Ms Afua B. Ansere, the National Programme Co-ordinator UNIFEM said aid effectiveness would be attained if monies flowing into a country as aid were more co-ordinated and used for the intended purpose, while recipients were more accountable for the aid received.
She said for Ghana to attain a middle-income status by 2015, and to make aid effectiveness more relevance to the country, it was important to link the international aid received by the country to gender equality and women empowerment, while looking at the proportion of money that was channelled into health, education and youth training, as well as reproductive health and maternal health care, water and sanitation and the provision of other social services.
Mrs Charity Binka, a member of the EC/UN Partnership, who made a presentation on the concepts of gender equality and women empowerment, said basically women were seen to perform reproductive roles, while men performed productive roles.
She, however, indicated that gender was not a consequence of sex and did not mean that one group was better than the other, adding that “it involves the roles that we play in our homes, the society, the church and in our communities”.
She said gender equality meant that men and women had the same rights, status and fair treatment regardless of their sex.
The Accra forum will among others review progress in improving aid effectiveness, broaden the dialogue to newer actors and chart a course for continuing international action on aid effectiveness.
The conference will conclude high-level discussions and negotiations around key issues, culminating in the endorsement of a ministerial statement — The Accra Agenda for Action — that aims to deepen implementation of the Paris Declaration.
Between September 2 and 4 this year, ministers from over 100 countries and heads of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, donor organisations, and civil society organisations from around the world will assemble in Accra for the third High-Level Forum on aid effectiveness.
The conference is being held in recognition of the need to reform the process of development assistance to make it more responsive to the needs of developing countries and marginalised people in their fight against poverty by making aid more transparent, accountable and results-oriented.
The move towards a more equitable and gender responsiveness in the aid agenda over the years resulted in a conscious effort by the international community to reform the ways through which aid is delivered and managed.
They recognised that while the volumes of aid and other development resources must increase to achieve these goals, aid effectiveness must increase significantly, as well as support partner country efforts to strengthen governance and improve development performance. This is aimed at increasing the impact of aid in reducing poverty and inequality, increasing growth, building capacity and accelerating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The commitment to achieve improved aid effectiveness and results was concretised in the late 1990s, when donors/aid agencies, in particular, began working with each other, and with partner countries, to harmonise these approaches and requirements.
The movement picked up steam in 2002 at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, and the last five years have been marked by a number of initiatives towards establishing a new aid architecture.
This culminated in a High-Level Forum on Harmonisation in Paris in March 2005, attended by heads of multilateral and bilateral development institutions, who resolved to take positive steps to reform ways to aid delivery and management.
The High-Level Forum followed up on the adoption of a Declaration that has come to be known as the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The declaration is grounded on five mutually reinforcing principles: Ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability.
As part of a programme to enhance the knowledge of the media in understanding the issues concerned with aid effectiveness, the European Commission (EC), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITC-ILO) have launched the EC/UN Partnership on Gender Equality for Development and Peace.
The partnership is to support stronger action on gender equality and women’s human rights in national development process and in co-operation programmes supported by the EC.
Consequently, a one-day training workshop was organised for journalists in Accra, to provide the opportunity for participants to interact and share ideas on international aid and development issues and to break down the technical terms of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
The participants, made up of representatives from both the print and electronic media, maintained that no country could attain accelerated development if a segment of the population was not involved in the planning and implementation of the development process.
They said it was necessary to ensure that women, who constitute more than half of the population of a number of countries, were involved in development plans, while aid was implemented to meet the different needs of men, women, children and people with special needs.
Ms Afua B. Ansere, the National Programme Co-ordinator UNIFEM said aid effectiveness would be attained if monies flowing into a country as aid were more co-ordinated and used for the intended purpose, while recipients were more accountable for the aid received.
She said for Ghana to attain a middle-income status by 2015, and to make aid effectiveness more relevance to the country, it was important to link the international aid received by the country to gender equality and women empowerment, while looking at the proportion of money that was channelled into health, education and youth training, as well as reproductive health and maternal health care, water and sanitation and the provision of other social services.
Mrs Charity Binka, a member of the EC/UN Partnership, who made a presentation on the concepts of gender equality and women empowerment, said basically women were seen to perform reproductive roles, while men performed productive roles.
She, however, indicated that gender was not a consequence of sex and did not mean that one group was better than the other, adding that “it involves the roles that we play in our homes, the society, the church and in our communities”.
She said gender equality meant that men and women had the same rights, status and fair treatment regardless of their sex.
The Accra forum will among others review progress in improving aid effectiveness, broaden the dialogue to newer actors and chart a course for continuing international action on aid effectiveness.
The conference will conclude high-level discussions and negotiations around key issues, culminating in the endorsement of a ministerial statement — The Accra Agenda for Action — that aims to deepen implementation of the Paris Declaration.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Free maternal care - matters arising
Article: Salome Donkor (daily Graphic, page 11. 12th August, 2008)
THE recent grant received from the British government to provide free maternal care was hailed from various quarters as a positive step to ensure that all pregnant women in the country would pass through pregnancy and delivery safely.
The grant brought about the introduction of a policy of free medical care for pregnant women under the National Health Insurance Scheme, which started in July, this year.
The policy was announced by President J. A. Kufuor after a trip to the United Kingdom, where the British government pledged £42.5 million to support efforts at reducing maternal mortality as envisaged in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
A visit to some health facilities in the Greater Accra Region ,barely 10 days into the implementation of the free access to maternal health services in the country, indicated sharp increase in the number of pregnant women registering with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in some major hospitals.
At the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, a total of 780 women had registered with the scheme, 398 at the Tema General Hospital while 64 at the Prampram Healthcare Centre, when the NHIS team visited these facilities.
At its 4th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Tamale between July 25 and July 27, 2008, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), reportedly added its voice to commend the government for introducing free medical care for pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality.
The maternal mortality ratio indicates the risk of death a woman faces with each pregnancy. In settings with high fertility, such as sub-Saharan Africa, women face this risk many times in their lifetime. In Ghana, the maternal mortality ratio is estimated to be between 214 and 540 per 100,000 live births annually.
As such more women have realised the need to access available health facilities in order to have safe delivery . Health experts enumerate causes of maternal mortality in Ghana as bleeding before and after delivery, hypertension and fits in pregnancy, miscarriage and serious infection, among others.
It is therefore a little wonder that reports from various health facilities across the country indicate that the facilities have been crowded with pregnant women, following the implementation of the free ante-natal care delivery policy.
At his turn at the meet-the-press series organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Accra recently, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Ras Boateng, was reported to have said that figures received from some of the districts indicated that the Ashanti Region was leading with 12,164 pregnant women who have registered under the scheme, followed by the Greater Accra Region with 8,211; the Central Region, 6, 843; the Eastern Region, 5,870; and the Western Region, 5,012.
The rest are the Upper West Region, 3,608; Northern Region, 2,720; Upper East Region, 2,473; Brong Ahafo Region, 2,434; and the Volta Region, 1,589.
The CEO was reported to have stated that there was the possibility that many of those women would not have gone for ante-natal care if the policy was not introduced. This is quite valid considering the fact that, before the introduction of the policy, some women who could not pay for the costs of their delivery were detained by the hospitals.
Under this programme pregnant women would benefit from the ante-natal period to three months after delivery, while emergencies during delivery and all other medical problems that would arise within this period would be covered.
Reports from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the nation’s premiere hospital indicate that following the implementation of the free ante-natal care, the number of delivery cases each day has increased to about eight times and also there is also 12 to 50 caesarian sections each day.
Inaugurating a second theatre for the hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, Prof Enyonam Yao Kwawukume ,was reported to have said that the implementation of the free ante-natal care had increased the attendance of pregnant women to the hospital.
He explained that consequently, hospital staff had to work extra hard to attend to the increased number of patients, some of whom needed emergency obstetric and gynaecological care.
It is obvious that a measure needs to be put in place to address the expected upsurge in the number of maternal cases at hospitals following the introduction of the government’s free delivery services to enable the country to achieve the desired objective.
A statement jointly signed by the President of the Ghana Medical Association , Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful and the General Secretary, Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, spoke about the need for other factors to be considered to making the project meaningful and mentioned some of the factors as inadequate number of health professionals, lack of health facilities and low level motivation for health professionals in the face of increased client-load and responsibilities.
The report by the GMA which called on the government to invest resources both in the training of health professionals and the provision of basic equipment to the maternity units of the country’s health facilities to enable them to deliver efficient services, is quite timely.
Yaa Yaa, a 30-year old woman who delivered recently at the Korlebu Teaching hospital, spoke about inadequate facilities, such as beds and serious congestion at the Maternity Ward. She said the health staff are also overwhelmed by the increasing number of expectant mothers who must be attended to at the wards.
The recent opening of a second theatre for the Obstetric and Gynaecology Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital is a step in the right direction since the department used to have only one theatre that was operative.
Realising the fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which commits the international community to reducing, by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality rate in all developing countries, is an arduous task.
There is the need for the government and benevolent organisations and individuals to help realise this goal.
We are in the political season and all those who have the interest of women at heart, expect those aspiring for political positions to present their health policies as contained in their manifestos to the people and outline measures they intend to put in place to realise the MDGs with particular reference to reducing maternal mortality.
Men also have equal roles to play to live up to their parental responsibility to support government’s efforts of providing a universal access to reproductive health services.
THE recent grant received from the British government to provide free maternal care was hailed from various quarters as a positive step to ensure that all pregnant women in the country would pass through pregnancy and delivery safely.
The grant brought about the introduction of a policy of free medical care for pregnant women under the National Health Insurance Scheme, which started in July, this year.
The policy was announced by President J. A. Kufuor after a trip to the United Kingdom, where the British government pledged £42.5 million to support efforts at reducing maternal mortality as envisaged in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
A visit to some health facilities in the Greater Accra Region ,barely 10 days into the implementation of the free access to maternal health services in the country, indicated sharp increase in the number of pregnant women registering with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in some major hospitals.
At the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, a total of 780 women had registered with the scheme, 398 at the Tema General Hospital while 64 at the Prampram Healthcare Centre, when the NHIS team visited these facilities.
At its 4th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Tamale between July 25 and July 27, 2008, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), reportedly added its voice to commend the government for introducing free medical care for pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality.
The maternal mortality ratio indicates the risk of death a woman faces with each pregnancy. In settings with high fertility, such as sub-Saharan Africa, women face this risk many times in their lifetime. In Ghana, the maternal mortality ratio is estimated to be between 214 and 540 per 100,000 live births annually.
As such more women have realised the need to access available health facilities in order to have safe delivery . Health experts enumerate causes of maternal mortality in Ghana as bleeding before and after delivery, hypertension and fits in pregnancy, miscarriage and serious infection, among others.
It is therefore a little wonder that reports from various health facilities across the country indicate that the facilities have been crowded with pregnant women, following the implementation of the free ante-natal care delivery policy.
At his turn at the meet-the-press series organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Accra recently, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Ras Boateng, was reported to have said that figures received from some of the districts indicated that the Ashanti Region was leading with 12,164 pregnant women who have registered under the scheme, followed by the Greater Accra Region with 8,211; the Central Region, 6, 843; the Eastern Region, 5,870; and the Western Region, 5,012.
The rest are the Upper West Region, 3,608; Northern Region, 2,720; Upper East Region, 2,473; Brong Ahafo Region, 2,434; and the Volta Region, 1,589.
The CEO was reported to have stated that there was the possibility that many of those women would not have gone for ante-natal care if the policy was not introduced. This is quite valid considering the fact that, before the introduction of the policy, some women who could not pay for the costs of their delivery were detained by the hospitals.
Under this programme pregnant women would benefit from the ante-natal period to three months after delivery, while emergencies during delivery and all other medical problems that would arise within this period would be covered.
Reports from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the nation’s premiere hospital indicate that following the implementation of the free ante-natal care, the number of delivery cases each day has increased to about eight times and also there is also 12 to 50 caesarian sections each day.
Inaugurating a second theatre for the hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, Prof Enyonam Yao Kwawukume ,was reported to have said that the implementation of the free ante-natal care had increased the attendance of pregnant women to the hospital.
He explained that consequently, hospital staff had to work extra hard to attend to the increased number of patients, some of whom needed emergency obstetric and gynaecological care.
It is obvious that a measure needs to be put in place to address the expected upsurge in the number of maternal cases at hospitals following the introduction of the government’s free delivery services to enable the country to achieve the desired objective.
A statement jointly signed by the President of the Ghana Medical Association , Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful and the General Secretary, Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, spoke about the need for other factors to be considered to making the project meaningful and mentioned some of the factors as inadequate number of health professionals, lack of health facilities and low level motivation for health professionals in the face of increased client-load and responsibilities.
The report by the GMA which called on the government to invest resources both in the training of health professionals and the provision of basic equipment to the maternity units of the country’s health facilities to enable them to deliver efficient services, is quite timely.
Yaa Yaa, a 30-year old woman who delivered recently at the Korlebu Teaching hospital, spoke about inadequate facilities, such as beds and serious congestion at the Maternity Ward. She said the health staff are also overwhelmed by the increasing number of expectant mothers who must be attended to at the wards.
The recent opening of a second theatre for the Obstetric and Gynaecology Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital is a step in the right direction since the department used to have only one theatre that was operative.
Realising the fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which commits the international community to reducing, by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality rate in all developing countries, is an arduous task.
There is the need for the government and benevolent organisations and individuals to help realise this goal.
We are in the political season and all those who have the interest of women at heart, expect those aspiring for political positions to present their health policies as contained in their manifestos to the people and outline measures they intend to put in place to realise the MDGs with particular reference to reducing maternal mortality.
Men also have equal roles to play to live up to their parental responsibility to support government’s efforts of providing a universal access to reproductive health services.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Enhancing the status of women
Article: Salome Donkor (Daily Graphic, 07/08/08. Page 11)
THE launch of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Combined Reports on Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in Accra, recently provided a forum for the enumeration of measures taken over the years to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in the country.
The reports cover the period 1993 to 2003 and highlight progress made over the decade in achieving gender equality, as well as challenges and efforts being made by the government towards the realisation of women’s empowerment, equality, equity and sustainable development.
It is being disseminated to all stakeholders who have a role in the implementation of the Convention.
The first section of the reports provides an update on Ghana’s socio-economic and political environment. It also discusses the position and status of women in Ghana since the submission of the first and second reports in 1991 and 1992, respectively.
The reports further evaluates what was achieved with regards to the implementation of the “ Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies for Promoting the Advancement of Women”, and “ The Platform For Action” adopted after the Beijing Conference.
The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) submitted the combined report, which was considered by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in August 2006.
State parties are enjoined under provisions of CEDAW to submit periodic reports to the committee on the elimination of discrimination against women and the three reports provided additional information on questions and issues raised in the report and offers a lot of issues for discussion.
The compilation of the report and other related documents of Ghana’s implementation of CEDAW has been made possible through the support and inputs from ministries, departments and agencies and civil society organisations in conjunction with development partners namely, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which provided financial and administrative support.
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides a framework for equality of all persons and outlaws discrimination on the basis of gender/sex. It promises to protect and promote all human rights and also prohibits all harmful customary practices.
Chapter 5 of the constitution deals with fundamental human rights and freedoms which conform to the international human rights framework. In addition, to the rights accorded to all persons, articles 22 and 27 deal specifically with women’s rights.
The Minister for Women and Children Affairs (MOWAC), Hajia Alima Mahama rightly pointed out during the launch of the reports that Ghana has made giant strides in the fulfilment of its national, regional and international commitment adding that Ghana demonstrated its commitment and political will by not only signing the convention, but also through the implementation of various strategies with the view of empowering women.
She was reported to have observed that the government and the people of Ghana had demonstrated their commitment to the tenets of the convention by ensuring that the Constitution and other policies and legislation were consistent with CEDAW.
She said sections of the 1992 Constitution, which guaranteed the fundamental human rights of every Ghanaian irrespective of race, place of origin, gender and freedom from discrimination, which she said were conformity with provisions of CEDAW.
In addition to these, the setting up of the National Council on Women and Development, now the Department of Women, after the 1975 Conference on Women, as a national machinery for women, the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs in 2001 with a cabinet status, the passage of the Domestic Violence Bill and the setting up of the Women and Juvenile Unit, now the Domestic Violence and victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service, are all positive steps adopted over the past decade to enhance the status of women.
The report points to progress made in women’s health, education and economic empowerment, covering the period under review during which Ghana has seen three consecutive terms of constitutional rule.
Despite these achievements the reports assert that some challenges remain in the area of politics, administration and medium and large-scale industrial development, while the percentage of illiterate women remains high, as compared to men.
Although some harmful traditional practices, such as widowhood rites and female genital mutilation have been criminalised under the Criminal Code Amendment Act 1998 (Act 554), women are still a long way from achieving equality and these practices persist in some communities due to existing stereotyped conceptions of women caused by socio-cultural factors which perpetuate discrimination based on sex.
For instance the reports mention that one of the thorny issues that needs to be dealt with is polygamy, which it said was an entrenched socio-cultural and religious practice that remained a big challenge to legislators and policy makers.
Nana Oye Lithur, the African Regional Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHI) said polygamy was still an issue and explained that sometimes it was difficult to determine who was the wife in a polygamous marriage after the husband with multiple wives, died intestate. She said that also raised a lot of issues in relation to property rights.Nana Oye also said although there had been a lot of interventions since 2006 when the reports were submitted, to address issues of maternal health, mentioning, the National Health Insurance Scheme and the recent introduction of free medical care for pregnant women, the issue of unsafe abortion was still outstanding.
She said people needed to be informed and provided with a comprehensive care to ensure that those who qualified under the law, had safe abortion.
She also mentioned the issue of witch camps in some parts of the country and explained that although it had traditional ramifications, efforts must be made to ensure that women perceived as witches, enjoyed their fundamental human rights, stipulated under the constitution.
Ms Gloria Ofori Boadu, President of the Women Assistance and Business Association (WABA) pointed out that women must be sensitised to encourage and support fellow women who aspire for positions in decision-making.
Ms Ofori Boadu, who contested and lost the Abuakwa South Constituency primaries on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, indicated that although there were no laws in Ghana that bar women from participating in politics or in other areas of economic and social life;the cultural perception of women as inferior to men has been a major hinderance to women in politics and public life.
She said after all these years of advocacy, it was unfortunate for some people to think that women who got to decision-making positions would relegate their traditional roles to the background.
She said there was still the need for increased women’s participation in decision-making at the district level, ministries, department and agencies since they formed about 52 per cent of the country’s population.
The reports also mentioned financial constraints to ensure wide publicity of the convention, for example, translation of articles of the convention into local dialects and incorporation of articles on the convention into the laws of Ghana.
They therefore stressed on the need for all stakeholders, as well as the international community to do more to support the implementation of all articles of the convention to enable the nation achieve the aspirations of gender equality, development and peace.
THE launch of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Combined Reports on Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in Accra, recently provided a forum for the enumeration of measures taken over the years to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in the country.
The reports cover the period 1993 to 2003 and highlight progress made over the decade in achieving gender equality, as well as challenges and efforts being made by the government towards the realisation of women’s empowerment, equality, equity and sustainable development.
It is being disseminated to all stakeholders who have a role in the implementation of the Convention.
The first section of the reports provides an update on Ghana’s socio-economic and political environment. It also discusses the position and status of women in Ghana since the submission of the first and second reports in 1991 and 1992, respectively.
The reports further evaluates what was achieved with regards to the implementation of the “ Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies for Promoting the Advancement of Women”, and “ The Platform For Action” adopted after the Beijing Conference.
The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) submitted the combined report, which was considered by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in August 2006.
State parties are enjoined under provisions of CEDAW to submit periodic reports to the committee on the elimination of discrimination against women and the three reports provided additional information on questions and issues raised in the report and offers a lot of issues for discussion.
The compilation of the report and other related documents of Ghana’s implementation of CEDAW has been made possible through the support and inputs from ministries, departments and agencies and civil society organisations in conjunction with development partners namely, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which provided financial and administrative support.
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides a framework for equality of all persons and outlaws discrimination on the basis of gender/sex. It promises to protect and promote all human rights and also prohibits all harmful customary practices.
Chapter 5 of the constitution deals with fundamental human rights and freedoms which conform to the international human rights framework. In addition, to the rights accorded to all persons, articles 22 and 27 deal specifically with women’s rights.
The Minister for Women and Children Affairs (MOWAC), Hajia Alima Mahama rightly pointed out during the launch of the reports that Ghana has made giant strides in the fulfilment of its national, regional and international commitment adding that Ghana demonstrated its commitment and political will by not only signing the convention, but also through the implementation of various strategies with the view of empowering women.
She was reported to have observed that the government and the people of Ghana had demonstrated their commitment to the tenets of the convention by ensuring that the Constitution and other policies and legislation were consistent with CEDAW.
She said sections of the 1992 Constitution, which guaranteed the fundamental human rights of every Ghanaian irrespective of race, place of origin, gender and freedom from discrimination, which she said were conformity with provisions of CEDAW.
In addition to these, the setting up of the National Council on Women and Development, now the Department of Women, after the 1975 Conference on Women, as a national machinery for women, the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs in 2001 with a cabinet status, the passage of the Domestic Violence Bill and the setting up of the Women and Juvenile Unit, now the Domestic Violence and victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service, are all positive steps adopted over the past decade to enhance the status of women.
The report points to progress made in women’s health, education and economic empowerment, covering the period under review during which Ghana has seen three consecutive terms of constitutional rule.
Despite these achievements the reports assert that some challenges remain in the area of politics, administration and medium and large-scale industrial development, while the percentage of illiterate women remains high, as compared to men.
Although some harmful traditional practices, such as widowhood rites and female genital mutilation have been criminalised under the Criminal Code Amendment Act 1998 (Act 554), women are still a long way from achieving equality and these practices persist in some communities due to existing stereotyped conceptions of women caused by socio-cultural factors which perpetuate discrimination based on sex.
For instance the reports mention that one of the thorny issues that needs to be dealt with is polygamy, which it said was an entrenched socio-cultural and religious practice that remained a big challenge to legislators and policy makers.
Nana Oye Lithur, the African Regional Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHI) said polygamy was still an issue and explained that sometimes it was difficult to determine who was the wife in a polygamous marriage after the husband with multiple wives, died intestate. She said that also raised a lot of issues in relation to property rights.Nana Oye also said although there had been a lot of interventions since 2006 when the reports were submitted, to address issues of maternal health, mentioning, the National Health Insurance Scheme and the recent introduction of free medical care for pregnant women, the issue of unsafe abortion was still outstanding.
She said people needed to be informed and provided with a comprehensive care to ensure that those who qualified under the law, had safe abortion.
She also mentioned the issue of witch camps in some parts of the country and explained that although it had traditional ramifications, efforts must be made to ensure that women perceived as witches, enjoyed their fundamental human rights, stipulated under the constitution.
Ms Gloria Ofori Boadu, President of the Women Assistance and Business Association (WABA) pointed out that women must be sensitised to encourage and support fellow women who aspire for positions in decision-making.
Ms Ofori Boadu, who contested and lost the Abuakwa South Constituency primaries on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, indicated that although there were no laws in Ghana that bar women from participating in politics or in other areas of economic and social life;the cultural perception of women as inferior to men has been a major hinderance to women in politics and public life.
She said after all these years of advocacy, it was unfortunate for some people to think that women who got to decision-making positions would relegate their traditional roles to the background.
She said there was still the need for increased women’s participation in decision-making at the district level, ministries, department and agencies since they formed about 52 per cent of the country’s population.
The reports also mentioned financial constraints to ensure wide publicity of the convention, for example, translation of articles of the convention into local dialects and incorporation of articles on the convention into the laws of Ghana.
They therefore stressed on the need for all stakeholders, as well as the international community to do more to support the implementation of all articles of the convention to enable the nation achieve the aspirations of gender equality, development and peace.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Fighting child labour- Are we losing the battle?
Article: Salome Donkor (7th June, 2008)
While on my way home one evening around 8.00pm, I spotted two girls around the Airport Traffic Lights. One was selling plantain chips and the other sachet water.
The red light came on so they moved towards the vehicles that had stopped to market their wares. Out of curiosity, I asked of their ages when they got close to my car and both of them were aged 8 years and in primary two.
The conversation ended there because the green light came on and I had to move on, but while driving home I could not stop thinking about my two friends, who I will call Abena and Akosua. I felt scared for the two little girls who were moving on the road, walking close to moving vehicles to sell their wares at that time of the night.
My friends Abena and Akosua are not the only children who are engaged in hawking at the various traffic intersections on the streets of Accra, which puts their lives at risk. There are others who also carry loads at lorry stations for a fee, who are popularly referred to as ‘Kayayee.’
In mining areas like Akwatia and Obuasi, children abandon school to engage in ‘galamsey’, while in some areas, children are engaged in stone quarrying.
Some children also climb tall trees to harvest forest products, mix and handle pesticides without adequate protection, dive into deep oceans to untangle fishing nets, use sharp tools and dangerous machinery.
Children engaged in the agricultural sector operate in poor and dangerous conditions and are harshly exploited with little or no pay. They are deprived of their childhood, adequate education and self-development. A large number of these children are exposed to unsafe and risky working conditions.
Many of the jobs they carry out are hazardous - causing physical and mental injuries and sometimes even costing them their lives. In the worst forms of child labour, children are exploited, abused and denied any education, thus compromising their future livelihood.
The Fourth Republican Constitution and the Children’s Act, 1998, Act 560 have clear provisions that protect children against these hazardous conditions, but the practice persists.
When the United Nations adopted the water-shed Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the ILO was poised to provide direct assistance to countries to tackle child labour.
The results of a Child Labour Survey conducted in 2003 estimates that more than 242,000 children are engaged in hazardous labour, while over one million children under 15 years were estimated to be working in Ghana.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has estimated that some 165 million children between the ages of five and 14 are involved in child labour. Many of them work long hours, often in dangerous conditions.
Child labour is closely associated with poverty. Many poor families are unable to afford school fees or other educational expenditure and, therefore, depend on the contribution that a working child makes to the household’s income; they tend to place more importance on that than their education.
In 1998, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work was adopted. It included the elimination of child labour as one of the four fundamental principles which the ILO members pledged to respect, regardless of whether they had ratified the relevant Conventions. In 1999, the ILO’s constituents adopted the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182).
The ILO launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 as a platform for highlighting the global extent of child labour and focusing attention on global action to eliminate child labour. Each year the day is celebrated on June 12, to link governments, employers and workers’ organisations, as well as civil society groups and others such as schools and the media, in the campaign against child labour, through advocacy and solidarity.
This year the World Day against Child Labour will be marked around the world with activities to raise awareness that education is the right response to child labour, on the theme “Education: The right response to Child Labour”.
Consequently, emphasis will be focused on educational policies to address child labour by providing properly resourced education and skills training and to promote awareness on the need to tackle child labour.
Child rights advocate, Mr Bright Appiah, states that in the Ghanaian cultural setting where it is believed that children can do something to support the family, it is really difficult to get people to understand that children who work to contribute economically to the house are engaged in child labour.
He said it was important to look at what labour is and how it pertains in the country’s cultural set-up. He explained that anything a child will do depends on his/her strength, age and health, adding that child labour occurs when any of these factors are negatively affected.
He said it was important to look at which was supreme; the law or culture, and pointed out that although the law was supreme, its implementation was inhibited by the cultural environment. Mr Appiah, however pointed out that situations where children do all kinds of jobs for money under hazardous conditions, are not in consonance with the proper growth and development of children and must be critically looked at.
Recognising the role of the media in the national fight against child labour and to enhance the commitment of journalists to the promotion of the enjoyment of the constitutional rights of children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) organised an interaction attended by a delegation from UNICEF Ghana, led by Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Country Representative, and representatives from the Ghanaian media to explore ways of strengthening collaboration between the UN specialised agency on children and the media in Ghana, on how to promote greater coverage of children issues.
Dr Ali Haque pointed out that the enforcement of the laws that protect children was paramount and the media had a role to play in areas where much had not been done.
She said there was the need for adults to be accountable to children and create forums where children’s voices could be heard and their concerns addressed.
A hand-out that outlined guidelines for reporting children advised the media not to publish stories or images which might put the children, their siblings or peers at risk even when their identities were changed, obscured or not used.
It also advised the media to avoid questions, attitudes or comments that were judgmental or insensitive to cultural values and that put children in danger or expose a child to humiliation, or that reactivates a child’s pain and grief from traumatic events.
It also advised media practitioners to avoid categorisations or descriptions that expose children to negative reprisals, including additional physical or psychological harm, or to lifelong abuse, discrimination or rejection by their local communities.
Children are more prone to exploitation than adults. Some employers actually prefer to employ children because they are easier to control and do not know or demand their rights.
For biological and developmental reasons, children who are exposed to dangerous chemicals, machinery, sharp tools and heavy loads are more susceptible to long-term health problems.
Work situations that interfere with their health, education, and mental and physical growth compromise children’s future and there is the need for a concerted effort by all, parliamentarians, non-governmental organisations, and local authorities, consumers and the public in general, to focus on shaping a world fit for children.
While on my way home one evening around 8.00pm, I spotted two girls around the Airport Traffic Lights. One was selling plantain chips and the other sachet water.
The red light came on so they moved towards the vehicles that had stopped to market their wares. Out of curiosity, I asked of their ages when they got close to my car and both of them were aged 8 years and in primary two.
The conversation ended there because the green light came on and I had to move on, but while driving home I could not stop thinking about my two friends, who I will call Abena and Akosua. I felt scared for the two little girls who were moving on the road, walking close to moving vehicles to sell their wares at that time of the night.
My friends Abena and Akosua are not the only children who are engaged in hawking at the various traffic intersections on the streets of Accra, which puts their lives at risk. There are others who also carry loads at lorry stations for a fee, who are popularly referred to as ‘Kayayee.’
In mining areas like Akwatia and Obuasi, children abandon school to engage in ‘galamsey’, while in some areas, children are engaged in stone quarrying.
Some children also climb tall trees to harvest forest products, mix and handle pesticides without adequate protection, dive into deep oceans to untangle fishing nets, use sharp tools and dangerous machinery.
Children engaged in the agricultural sector operate in poor and dangerous conditions and are harshly exploited with little or no pay. They are deprived of their childhood, adequate education and self-development. A large number of these children are exposed to unsafe and risky working conditions.
Many of the jobs they carry out are hazardous - causing physical and mental injuries and sometimes even costing them their lives. In the worst forms of child labour, children are exploited, abused and denied any education, thus compromising their future livelihood.
The Fourth Republican Constitution and the Children’s Act, 1998, Act 560 have clear provisions that protect children against these hazardous conditions, but the practice persists.
When the United Nations adopted the water-shed Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the ILO was poised to provide direct assistance to countries to tackle child labour.
The results of a Child Labour Survey conducted in 2003 estimates that more than 242,000 children are engaged in hazardous labour, while over one million children under 15 years were estimated to be working in Ghana.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has estimated that some 165 million children between the ages of five and 14 are involved in child labour. Many of them work long hours, often in dangerous conditions.
Child labour is closely associated with poverty. Many poor families are unable to afford school fees or other educational expenditure and, therefore, depend on the contribution that a working child makes to the household’s income; they tend to place more importance on that than their education.
In 1998, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work was adopted. It included the elimination of child labour as one of the four fundamental principles which the ILO members pledged to respect, regardless of whether they had ratified the relevant Conventions. In 1999, the ILO’s constituents adopted the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182).
The ILO launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 as a platform for highlighting the global extent of child labour and focusing attention on global action to eliminate child labour. Each year the day is celebrated on June 12, to link governments, employers and workers’ organisations, as well as civil society groups and others such as schools and the media, in the campaign against child labour, through advocacy and solidarity.
This year the World Day against Child Labour will be marked around the world with activities to raise awareness that education is the right response to child labour, on the theme “Education: The right response to Child Labour”.
Consequently, emphasis will be focused on educational policies to address child labour by providing properly resourced education and skills training and to promote awareness on the need to tackle child labour.
Child rights advocate, Mr Bright Appiah, states that in the Ghanaian cultural setting where it is believed that children can do something to support the family, it is really difficult to get people to understand that children who work to contribute economically to the house are engaged in child labour.
He said it was important to look at what labour is and how it pertains in the country’s cultural set-up. He explained that anything a child will do depends on his/her strength, age and health, adding that child labour occurs when any of these factors are negatively affected.
He said it was important to look at which was supreme; the law or culture, and pointed out that although the law was supreme, its implementation was inhibited by the cultural environment. Mr Appiah, however pointed out that situations where children do all kinds of jobs for money under hazardous conditions, are not in consonance with the proper growth and development of children and must be critically looked at.
Recognising the role of the media in the national fight against child labour and to enhance the commitment of journalists to the promotion of the enjoyment of the constitutional rights of children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) organised an interaction attended by a delegation from UNICEF Ghana, led by Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Country Representative, and representatives from the Ghanaian media to explore ways of strengthening collaboration between the UN specialised agency on children and the media in Ghana, on how to promote greater coverage of children issues.
Dr Ali Haque pointed out that the enforcement of the laws that protect children was paramount and the media had a role to play in areas where much had not been done.
She said there was the need for adults to be accountable to children and create forums where children’s voices could be heard and their concerns addressed.
A hand-out that outlined guidelines for reporting children advised the media not to publish stories or images which might put the children, their siblings or peers at risk even when their identities were changed, obscured or not used.
It also advised the media to avoid questions, attitudes or comments that were judgmental or insensitive to cultural values and that put children in danger or expose a child to humiliation, or that reactivates a child’s pain and grief from traumatic events.
It also advised media practitioners to avoid categorisations or descriptions that expose children to negative reprisals, including additional physical or psychological harm, or to lifelong abuse, discrimination or rejection by their local communities.
Children are more prone to exploitation than adults. Some employers actually prefer to employ children because they are easier to control and do not know or demand their rights.
For biological and developmental reasons, children who are exposed to dangerous chemicals, machinery, sharp tools and heavy loads are more susceptible to long-term health problems.
Work situations that interfere with their health, education, and mental and physical growth compromise children’s future and there is the need for a concerted effort by all, parliamentarians, non-governmental organisations, and local authorities, consumers and the public in general, to focus on shaping a world fit for children.
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