Story: Salome Donkor
RAMPANT fire outbreaks in some slum dwellings in Accra often result in the destruction of property, and the loss of lives.
In January this year, a female porter and her child and another, perished in a fire outbreak that happened at ‘Sodom and Gomorah’, a slum at Old Fadama in Accra.
Over the years similar incidents had occured in the area, which is the largest slum and informal settlement in the country, as well as slums like “Abuja” at the Cocoa Board Station and the slum along the railway line at Odawna.
The problem is compounded by the fact that the slums are crowded with wooden structures occupied by mostly young girls and children, which are exposed to naked fire due to cooking and other domestic activities by the residents.
Despite repeated public concerns raised on the activities of squatters and slum dwellers, the uncontrolled exodus of female porters, popularly known as “Kayayei” from the three northern regions and other rural communities, to Accra,affect the growth of these slums.
Some of these porters who have no accommodation sleep at lorry parks and in front of shops in the central business district of the city.
In order to find solutions to the problems confronting slum dwellers at Old and new Fadama following eviction notices to them from the government, the residents formed the Ghana Federation of the Urban Poor in 2003.
The federation works in collaboration with the People’s Dialogue on Human Settlements to establish savings and build a federation of urban poor communities in Ghana that would be linked to Slum\Shack Dwellers International (SDI).
The People’s Dialogue on Human Settlements is a community-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) which is registered with the Department of Social Welfare and works with the urban poor in Ghana to alleviate poverty and improve their living conditions, as well as explore alternative solutions to forced evictions.
The federation, is a network of community-based organisations participating in community-led savings and loans schemes for housing infrastructure development and livelihood improvement. It operates in about 100 communities in the country in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Western, Volta and Eastern regions.
The federation is working as one of the partner organisations that is collecting data, mobilising information and undertaking community-led mappings, to collate needs assessment of the settlers of Sodom and Gomorrah following eviction notices to the residents by the government.
It is also studying the means and affordability capacities of the people to come out with a comprehensive information, as well as technical and professional advise on resettlement programmes for the people.
Pending the take-off of the resettlement programme the Peoples Dialogue on Human Settlements supervised the design and construction of two hostels at a cost of GH¢20,000 put up by the Ghana Federation of the Urban Poor.
The hostel has five rooms and each room can accommodate between 10 and 15 people.
Mr Haruna Abu, the co-ordinator of the federation said the fire outbreak in the area in January is a major consideration for putting up the hostel to offer decent accommodation for some of the head porters.
He said the facility with a bathhouse, which is manned by a warden also offers a safe place for the head porters who pay 10 GP per day per head and provides them a place to keep their belongings.
He said the federation started a survey in the area to find out the number of residents in the area and their needs assessment and had so far covered almost 7,000 households.
He described the project as very successful and said head porters who make use of the facility have been educated on how to properly maintain the place.
Mr Faro R. Braimah, Executive Director of People’s Dialogue Human Settlement said it was the commitment of the organisation to find solutions to housing, which was a basic necessity in urban and peri-urban communities, and also tackle the issue of poverty.
He said this would be done in co-operation with governmental and non-governmental organisations, using dialogue and negotiations.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Responsibilities, challenges of Fathers and families
Article: Salome Donkor
Families all over the world have been undergoing significant changes. Among these changes are shifts from the extended family to the nuclear family; increased participation of women, including mothers, in the labour force; smaller family sizes; and increased instances of divorce and remarriage after divorce.
Other changes to families include increases in births outside marriage, female-headed households and non-residential fatherhood.
The presentations of various speakers at a seminar in Accra, as well as contributions from the dignitaries who attended the seminar to mark this year’s International Day of Families, which fell on Thursday, May 15, highlighted the effects of these changes. The theme for the celebration was “Fathers and families, responsibilities and challenges”.
The seminar brought together some members of the clergy, chiefs and queens, representatives from Curious Minds, a children’s rights organisation, and the security services.
It offered the participants a platform for the exchange of ideas, resulting in frank and open discussions about who should take the blame for the seeming breakdown of the family system.
While men were criticised for neglecting their responsibilities as fathers, mothers were also admonished for failing in the performance of important responsibilities and special duties, with children receiving the knock for exhibiting disobedience.
The family, the core of society, has been identified as the basic and most fundamental unit of society which is crucial to the survival and progress of society. It is also an important vehicle for transmitting the education and culture of society from one generation to another.
Today, the hustle and bustle of life in urban areas has overwhelmed most parents who are unable to discharge their responsibilities and maintain a viable family. This has resulted in numerous social problems such as child neglect, streetism, teenage pregnancy, early marriages and divorce, child delinquency and child labour.
Being the head of the family, the responsibilities that rest on fathers are enormous and they need to exhibit a strong presence in family life, and to buttress this point, the theme for this year’s International Day of Families was chosen to focus on the important role fathers play in the lives of families and children. In resolution 47/237 of September 20, 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed that May 15 of every year shall be observed as the International Day of Families.
In many families and cultures, the roles and responsibilities of fathers with respect to their children has changed over time. In many societies, the traditional responsibilities and role of the father were that of moral teacher, disciplinarian, male role model and breadwinner. Fathers exhibited a strong presence in family life, though not necessarily through direct or heavy involvement in child-rearing.
A message from the United Nations Secretary-General, read by the Country Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund, Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, acknowledged that recent research has affirmed the positive impact of the active involvement by fathers in the development of their children.
It, however, said too many men have difficulty assuming the responsibilities of fatherhood, often with damaging consequences to families and inevitably society at large.
It said some fathers indulge in domestic violence or even sexual abuse, devastating families and creating profound physical and emotional scars in children, while others abandon their families outright and fail to provide support.
For her part, the Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Alima Mahama, indicated that building the capacity and resilience of families to avoid the break-up of the family system would be an important contribution to the development of the country.
She said over the years, Ghana had committed itself to promoting the interest of its young ones, adding that this manifested in her being the first country to ratify the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child, while another national strategic plan of action, which identifies the various sectoral interventions required for sustainable child welfare in the areas of education, health, water and sanitation and poverty reduction strategies, have been put in place.
She said all these policies and interventions of government are geared towards ensuring a strong and viable family and that fathers live up to their responsibilities to promote the survival of families.
Mr Ian McFarlane, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said in planning good family values, families need to think of the number of children to have, and use modern methods of contraceptives to protect themselves, space births and produce the number of children they can effectively cater for.
Speaking from the perspective of the church, Reverend Dei Awuku of the Atomic Hills Estate Presbyterian Church said the family was one of God’s institutions and it behoved all those who cherish peace to hold the family dear to their hearts and avoid things that impede the progress of the family.
He acknowledged that various research by some social scientists had shown that fathers had challenges in the performance of their duties but advised them to continually reach out to God for wisdom to accomplish their tasks.
Mrs Jane Adu of Women Refuge and Child Survival Africa, a non-governmental organisation, dwelt on the fallen moral standards among the youth and questioned what had happened to the families where these children were expected to be trained.
She said it was obvious that most of the adults who were to teach the children lacked the knowledge to do so and the children were disillusioned.
She called for good relationships between children and their parents and also advised mothers to give their children sex and family life education, stressing that much as children need to obey adults, both fathers and mothers had the onerous responsibility to show love and protection to children to provide them with holistic training and give them hope and empowerment.
During an open forum, most of the participants who blamed fathers for neglecting their responsibilities called for the institution of child support schemes as pertained in the developed countries to compel fathers who neglect their responsibilities to pay an amount from their incomes towards the upkeep of their families.
It is obvious that these challenges all highlight the deep and universal need for positive father figures in families. As our understanding of fatherhood grows, there is an opportunity for men to re-envision imaginatively what it means to be a father and to see opportunities to make a difference in the family.
The church, government and the society at large all have respective roles to play to create a conducive environment for fathers to perform their roles responsibly.
Families all over the world have been undergoing significant changes. Among these changes are shifts from the extended family to the nuclear family; increased participation of women, including mothers, in the labour force; smaller family sizes; and increased instances of divorce and remarriage after divorce.
Other changes to families include increases in births outside marriage, female-headed households and non-residential fatherhood.
The presentations of various speakers at a seminar in Accra, as well as contributions from the dignitaries who attended the seminar to mark this year’s International Day of Families, which fell on Thursday, May 15, highlighted the effects of these changes. The theme for the celebration was “Fathers and families, responsibilities and challenges”.
The seminar brought together some members of the clergy, chiefs and queens, representatives from Curious Minds, a children’s rights organisation, and the security services.
It offered the participants a platform for the exchange of ideas, resulting in frank and open discussions about who should take the blame for the seeming breakdown of the family system.
While men were criticised for neglecting their responsibilities as fathers, mothers were also admonished for failing in the performance of important responsibilities and special duties, with children receiving the knock for exhibiting disobedience.
The family, the core of society, has been identified as the basic and most fundamental unit of society which is crucial to the survival and progress of society. It is also an important vehicle for transmitting the education and culture of society from one generation to another.
Today, the hustle and bustle of life in urban areas has overwhelmed most parents who are unable to discharge their responsibilities and maintain a viable family. This has resulted in numerous social problems such as child neglect, streetism, teenage pregnancy, early marriages and divorce, child delinquency and child labour.
Being the head of the family, the responsibilities that rest on fathers are enormous and they need to exhibit a strong presence in family life, and to buttress this point, the theme for this year’s International Day of Families was chosen to focus on the important role fathers play in the lives of families and children. In resolution 47/237 of September 20, 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed that May 15 of every year shall be observed as the International Day of Families.
In many families and cultures, the roles and responsibilities of fathers with respect to their children has changed over time. In many societies, the traditional responsibilities and role of the father were that of moral teacher, disciplinarian, male role model and breadwinner. Fathers exhibited a strong presence in family life, though not necessarily through direct or heavy involvement in child-rearing.
A message from the United Nations Secretary-General, read by the Country Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund, Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, acknowledged that recent research has affirmed the positive impact of the active involvement by fathers in the development of their children.
It, however, said too many men have difficulty assuming the responsibilities of fatherhood, often with damaging consequences to families and inevitably society at large.
It said some fathers indulge in domestic violence or even sexual abuse, devastating families and creating profound physical and emotional scars in children, while others abandon their families outright and fail to provide support.
For her part, the Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Alima Mahama, indicated that building the capacity and resilience of families to avoid the break-up of the family system would be an important contribution to the development of the country.
She said over the years, Ghana had committed itself to promoting the interest of its young ones, adding that this manifested in her being the first country to ratify the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child, while another national strategic plan of action, which identifies the various sectoral interventions required for sustainable child welfare in the areas of education, health, water and sanitation and poverty reduction strategies, have been put in place.
She said all these policies and interventions of government are geared towards ensuring a strong and viable family and that fathers live up to their responsibilities to promote the survival of families.
Mr Ian McFarlane, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said in planning good family values, families need to think of the number of children to have, and use modern methods of contraceptives to protect themselves, space births and produce the number of children they can effectively cater for.
Speaking from the perspective of the church, Reverend Dei Awuku of the Atomic Hills Estate Presbyterian Church said the family was one of God’s institutions and it behoved all those who cherish peace to hold the family dear to their hearts and avoid things that impede the progress of the family.
He acknowledged that various research by some social scientists had shown that fathers had challenges in the performance of their duties but advised them to continually reach out to God for wisdom to accomplish their tasks.
Mrs Jane Adu of Women Refuge and Child Survival Africa, a non-governmental organisation, dwelt on the fallen moral standards among the youth and questioned what had happened to the families where these children were expected to be trained.
She said it was obvious that most of the adults who were to teach the children lacked the knowledge to do so and the children were disillusioned.
She called for good relationships between children and their parents and also advised mothers to give their children sex and family life education, stressing that much as children need to obey adults, both fathers and mothers had the onerous responsibility to show love and protection to children to provide them with holistic training and give them hope and empowerment.
During an open forum, most of the participants who blamed fathers for neglecting their responsibilities called for the institution of child support schemes as pertained in the developed countries to compel fathers who neglect their responsibilities to pay an amount from their incomes towards the upkeep of their families.
It is obvious that these challenges all highlight the deep and universal need for positive father figures in families. As our understanding of fatherhood grows, there is an opportunity for men to re-envision imaginatively what it means to be a father and to see opportunities to make a difference in the family.
The church, government and the society at large all have respective roles to play to create a conducive environment for fathers to perform their roles responsibly.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Happy Mothers’ Day, sharing love with mothers
05/10/08
Story: Salome Donkor
"Sweet mother I no go forget you
for the suffer wey you suffer for me.
Sweet mother I no go forget you
for the suffer wey you suffer for me.
When I dey cry, my mother go carry me--she go say, my pikin wetin you dey cry ye, ye,
stop stop, stop stop make you no cry again oh...."
The message of this song, titled "Sweet Mother", which is a popular Nigerian song composed in Pidgin English by Prince Nico Mbarga, in 1976, extolling the virtues of motherhood is just as valid today as it was three decades ago.
Motherhood is an honoured and exalted state in life, and most countries all over the world have their own customs in celebrating motherhood to show appreciation to mothers as those who bring forth children and nurtures them to life.
A number of people interviewed in Accra have expressed their gratitude to their mothers for their commitment, love and encouragement for making a difference in their lives and communities and for making them realise their dreams.
A Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Reverend Henry Amoako, who lost his mother recently, still recollects with nostalgia, the sacrifices his mother made to educate him and his siblings and pointed out that he owed a lot to her late mother.
He said his father was a cocoa farmer and his mother, affectionately called Mama Abena Tettebea, prepared kenkey to supplement the upkeep of the home.
He said through that effort her mother supported his father to educate the five of them, to attain various levels of education and he and another brother were educated to the university level.
Asked to comment on the behaviour of some people who brand their mothers as witches, he said although he did not dispute their suspicion he did not believe in that.
He said mothers, like all parents, had their faults, mostly caused by too much or too little concern for their children.
He however pointed out that older people, especially women become very emotional, inquisitive and ask a lot of questions and talk a lot, but medical experts have attributed that charecter to "menopause" and indicated that "when they get to that stage, we should know how to deal with them."
One lady in the Daily Graphic Newsroom, Ms Hawa Adama, recounted how the relationship between her mother and her children had grown from a mother and a child to a mother and a friend.
She was grateful to her mother for helping to build the foundation for the progress of her children and nurturing them as they grow and explore the great promise of our Nation.
Kwaku Asamani, an electrical technician, said through her mother's examples, he and his siblings had grown to understand the virtue of kindness, the blessing of compassion, and the importance of principle, adding that a mother's support encouraged children to make right choices, set high goals, and become good citizens.
Another woman also in the Newsroom, Auntie Mary, however said her mother never liked her and discriminated against her and her other siblings, and that made her think that there was a difference between her and the others.
Ms Gloria Ofori-Boadu, a Barrister-at-Law and Human Rights Advocate, said the Mothers' Day should also focus on women empowerment to help them rise up to the occasion and become agents of transformation and development.
Ms Ofori-Boadu, who is contesting the Abuakwa South seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, said women needed to be empowered financially to make the attainment of the goal of increasing women's participation in politics and decision-making a reality.
As we honour our mother's on this day, let's use the occasion to mark a new beginning to continue to share our love with mothers and all others every day. Let’s make it a point to start telling our mothers or the people who have contributed significantly to our lives that "we love them."
Story: Salome Donkor
"Sweet mother I no go forget you
for the suffer wey you suffer for me.
Sweet mother I no go forget you
for the suffer wey you suffer for me.
When I dey cry, my mother go carry me--she go say, my pikin wetin you dey cry ye, ye,
stop stop, stop stop make you no cry again oh...."
The message of this song, titled "Sweet Mother", which is a popular Nigerian song composed in Pidgin English by Prince Nico Mbarga, in 1976, extolling the virtues of motherhood is just as valid today as it was three decades ago.
Motherhood is an honoured and exalted state in life, and most countries all over the world have their own customs in celebrating motherhood to show appreciation to mothers as those who bring forth children and nurtures them to life.
A number of people interviewed in Accra have expressed their gratitude to their mothers for their commitment, love and encouragement for making a difference in their lives and communities and for making them realise their dreams.
A Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Reverend Henry Amoako, who lost his mother recently, still recollects with nostalgia, the sacrifices his mother made to educate him and his siblings and pointed out that he owed a lot to her late mother.
He said his father was a cocoa farmer and his mother, affectionately called Mama Abena Tettebea, prepared kenkey to supplement the upkeep of the home.
He said through that effort her mother supported his father to educate the five of them, to attain various levels of education and he and another brother were educated to the university level.
Asked to comment on the behaviour of some people who brand their mothers as witches, he said although he did not dispute their suspicion he did not believe in that.
He said mothers, like all parents, had their faults, mostly caused by too much or too little concern for their children.
He however pointed out that older people, especially women become very emotional, inquisitive and ask a lot of questions and talk a lot, but medical experts have attributed that charecter to "menopause" and indicated that "when they get to that stage, we should know how to deal with them."
One lady in the Daily Graphic Newsroom, Ms Hawa Adama, recounted how the relationship between her mother and her children had grown from a mother and a child to a mother and a friend.
She was grateful to her mother for helping to build the foundation for the progress of her children and nurturing them as they grow and explore the great promise of our Nation.
Kwaku Asamani, an electrical technician, said through her mother's examples, he and his siblings had grown to understand the virtue of kindness, the blessing of compassion, and the importance of principle, adding that a mother's support encouraged children to make right choices, set high goals, and become good citizens.
Another woman also in the Newsroom, Auntie Mary, however said her mother never liked her and discriminated against her and her other siblings, and that made her think that there was a difference between her and the others.
Ms Gloria Ofori-Boadu, a Barrister-at-Law and Human Rights Advocate, said the Mothers' Day should also focus on women empowerment to help them rise up to the occasion and become agents of transformation and development.
Ms Ofori-Boadu, who is contesting the Abuakwa South seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, said women needed to be empowered financially to make the attainment of the goal of increasing women's participation in politics and decision-making a reality.
As we honour our mother's on this day, let's use the occasion to mark a new beginning to continue to share our love with mothers and all others every day. Let’s make it a point to start telling our mothers or the people who have contributed significantly to our lives that "we love them."
Assis North Assembly honours blood donor
05/08/08
Story: Salome Donkor
For the past three decades, Mr Jonny de-Graft Baiden, 49, has consistently donated blood every quarter to various hospitals in the country.
Mr Baiden who works at the Statistics Department of the St Francis Xavier District Hospital at Assin Fosu, started donating blood in 1977, when he was in secondary school.
In recognition of his immense contribution to saving people’s lives, especially that of expectant mothers, the Assin North District Assembly has honoured him to show appreciation for his donations.
A citation signed by the District Chief Executive, Mr K. Karikari Apau, presented to him read in part “Your willingness to donate blood any time you are requested to do so is unparalleled and highly commendable.”
It said “your dedication and commitment to fighting maternal death puts you on a high pedestal as a noble individual contributor to the development of the district and to show our appreciation, we honour you on the occasion of Ghana’s Golden Jubilee celebration”.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mr Baiden said he began voluntary blood donation when he visited his mother at the former Food Production Unit in Accra and heard that the Korle Bu Blood Bank had run short of blood.
“I went to donate blood voluntarily and since then I have donated blood over 100 times” he said, adding that he does that every quarter.
He said he had a national award in 2003 and that apart from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, he had also donated blood to the Cape Coast Regional Hospital, Fynnba Clinic at Mankesim, as well as hospitals in Assin Fosu and Axim.
He said he belonged to the “O Negative” blood group and is consulted regularly to donate blood whenever there is an emergency.
He said the last time he donated blood was on March 15, this year after which health officials advised him to stop donating blood because of his age.
Story: Salome Donkor
For the past three decades, Mr Jonny de-Graft Baiden, 49, has consistently donated blood every quarter to various hospitals in the country.
Mr Baiden who works at the Statistics Department of the St Francis Xavier District Hospital at Assin Fosu, started donating blood in 1977, when he was in secondary school.
In recognition of his immense contribution to saving people’s lives, especially that of expectant mothers, the Assin North District Assembly has honoured him to show appreciation for his donations.
A citation signed by the District Chief Executive, Mr K. Karikari Apau, presented to him read in part “Your willingness to donate blood any time you are requested to do so is unparalleled and highly commendable.”
It said “your dedication and commitment to fighting maternal death puts you on a high pedestal as a noble individual contributor to the development of the district and to show our appreciation, we honour you on the occasion of Ghana’s Golden Jubilee celebration”.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mr Baiden said he began voluntary blood donation when he visited his mother at the former Food Production Unit in Accra and heard that the Korle Bu Blood Bank had run short of blood.
“I went to donate blood voluntarily and since then I have donated blood over 100 times” he said, adding that he does that every quarter.
He said he had a national award in 2003 and that apart from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, he had also donated blood to the Cape Coast Regional Hospital, Fynnba Clinic at Mankesim, as well as hospitals in Assin Fosu and Axim.
He said he belonged to the “O Negative” blood group and is consulted regularly to donate blood whenever there is an emergency.
He said the last time he donated blood was on March 15, this year after which health officials advised him to stop donating blood because of his age.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Sexual exploitation of children is criminal
Article: Salome Donkor
Felia (not her real name) is a 14-year-old girl who was lured from the village to Accra by a woman who promised her parents to offer her employment as a Chop Bar assistant in the city.
Due to financial constraints, Felia’s parents who have five other children to cater for, agreed to the proposal and allowed their daughter to travel to the city with the woman.
Unknown to Felia, her madam had additional responsibilities for her in the evenings after the close of work. She was made to sleep with men, both youngsters and adults in a dilapidated wooden structure for money which was collected by her madam.
Felia was in the business for one year after which she escaped from her madam and joined other girls on the streets of Accra to carry loads to earn a living; Unknown to her, she was pregnant and is now a teenage mother with no one to care for her and the child.
What Felia experienced is known as the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of children which is a form of forced labour whereby children aged below 18 are forced to have sex with adults and juveniles and in return money is paid to a third party who usually acts as the mediator.
A source at the Greater Accra Regional Office of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service confirmed in an interview that the unit occasionally received reported cases of children who were exploited sexually for commercial purposes and said four such cases were reported from a place called “Red Light” at Kwabenya in Accra. He said most of the time the mediator tended out to be “madams” who were engaged in child trafficking.
The source said although the practice was a criminal offence that warranted the prosecution of clients and the mediators since it amounted to defilement, indecent sexual assault and having unnatural carnal knowledge of a child, it was difficult for the police to arrest the perpetrators because nobody came out to report.
Available literature from the Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia indicates that a Convention was drawn up after the first World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation held in Stockholm in 1996 and the Congress defined Commercial Sexual Exploitation of children, which was adopted in the declaration at the congress as ‘sexual abuse by the adult and remuneration in cash or kind to the child or a third person or persons.
The child involved is treated as a sexual object and as a commercial object. The act includes the prostitution of children; child pornography; and other forms of transactional sex where a child engages in sexual activities to have key needs fulfilled, such as food, shelter or access to education.
It includes forms of transactional sex where the sexual abuse of children is not stopped or reported by household members, due to benefits derived by the household from the perpetrator and it also potentially includes arranged marriages involving children under the age of 18 years, where the child has not freely consented to marriage and where the child is sexually abused.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 182 classifies commercial sexual exploitation of children as one of the worst forms of child labour in the world. Child prostitution and child pornography are examples of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Article 25 (1) of the 1992 Constitution stipulates that “All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities and with a view to achieving the full realisation of the right” 25 (1) (a) states that “basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all”.
Sections of the constitution also enjoins Parliament to enact such laws that are necessary to ensure that “parents undertake their natural right and obligation of care, maintenance and upbringing of their children in co-operation with such institutions as Parliament may, by law, prescribe in such manner that in all cases the interest of the children are paramount”, 28 (1) (c) , while 28 (2) states that “Every child has the right to be protected from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to his health, education or development.”
Apart from these constitutional provisions, Ghana was the first country to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of Children, while at the national level the Children’s Act 1998 (Act 560) was promulgated to protect the welfare and interest of Ghanaian children.
It is however unfortunate that despite all these measures some children continue to suffer negative acts that constitute criminal practices that demean, degrade and threaten the physical and psychological integrity of children and subject them to emotional trauma.
Apart from that these children are exposed to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including the deadly HIV/AIDS, apart from becoming teenage mothers and also being denied the right to compulsory basic education.
Recently, International Needs Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), organised a forum on commercial sexual exploitation of children for some pupils in the Ablekuma South Metro.
The children were educated on the causes, effects and prevention of sexual abuse and were cautioned to desist from acts that could result in unwanted pregnancies or make them victims of sexual exploits by tourists.
Unfortunately, most children engaged in commercial sexual exploitation are lured into the business after they have been trafficked from the rural areas to the cities by traffickers who promise them jobs.
Social workers say the practice was also common in communities around the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Agbogbloshie and Konkomba markets and Tema Station, among others.
The causes of this form of inhuman form of exploitation against children could be complex. Could it be due to severe poverty, low value attached to education, family dysfunction, a cultural obligation to help support the family or the need to earn money to simply survive that make children vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation.
Social workers also say there are other non-economic factors that also push children into commercial sexual exploitation. Children who are at the greatest risk of becoming victims of the practice are those that have previously experienced physical or sexual abuse, a family environment of little protection, where caregivers are absent or where there is a high level of violence or alcohol or drug consumption, which induces boys and girls to run away from home making them highly susceptible to abuse.
When contacted, the Executive Director of Children’s Rights International, Bright Appiah said much as there was the need to create awareness for parents to live up to their parental responsibility and appreciate the consequence of their irresponsible behaviour, it was important to look at the effectiveness of the legal framework that protects children.
He said children in Ghana like other citizens, did not just live in a social environment, but rather the laws must be strengthened and implemented to protect children.
He said structures must be put in place to counsel and rehabilitate children who were victims of such exploitation so that they would not consign themselves to such kind of life.
It is obvious that the people who contribute to the exploitation of a child include parents and other family members, friends, peers and teachers, as well as procurers, brothel managers, traffickers and those who engage in sex acts with a child. All these groups of people therefore have respective roles to play to clamp down on commercial sexual exploitation.
Felia (not her real name) is a 14-year-old girl who was lured from the village to Accra by a woman who promised her parents to offer her employment as a Chop Bar assistant in the city.
Due to financial constraints, Felia’s parents who have five other children to cater for, agreed to the proposal and allowed their daughter to travel to the city with the woman.
Unknown to Felia, her madam had additional responsibilities for her in the evenings after the close of work. She was made to sleep with men, both youngsters and adults in a dilapidated wooden structure for money which was collected by her madam.
Felia was in the business for one year after which she escaped from her madam and joined other girls on the streets of Accra to carry loads to earn a living; Unknown to her, she was pregnant and is now a teenage mother with no one to care for her and the child.
What Felia experienced is known as the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of children which is a form of forced labour whereby children aged below 18 are forced to have sex with adults and juveniles and in return money is paid to a third party who usually acts as the mediator.
A source at the Greater Accra Regional Office of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service confirmed in an interview that the unit occasionally received reported cases of children who were exploited sexually for commercial purposes and said four such cases were reported from a place called “Red Light” at Kwabenya in Accra. He said most of the time the mediator tended out to be “madams” who were engaged in child trafficking.
The source said although the practice was a criminal offence that warranted the prosecution of clients and the mediators since it amounted to defilement, indecent sexual assault and having unnatural carnal knowledge of a child, it was difficult for the police to arrest the perpetrators because nobody came out to report.
Available literature from the Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia indicates that a Convention was drawn up after the first World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation held in Stockholm in 1996 and the Congress defined Commercial Sexual Exploitation of children, which was adopted in the declaration at the congress as ‘sexual abuse by the adult and remuneration in cash or kind to the child or a third person or persons.
The child involved is treated as a sexual object and as a commercial object. The act includes the prostitution of children; child pornography; and other forms of transactional sex where a child engages in sexual activities to have key needs fulfilled, such as food, shelter or access to education.
It includes forms of transactional sex where the sexual abuse of children is not stopped or reported by household members, due to benefits derived by the household from the perpetrator and it also potentially includes arranged marriages involving children under the age of 18 years, where the child has not freely consented to marriage and where the child is sexually abused.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 182 classifies commercial sexual exploitation of children as one of the worst forms of child labour in the world. Child prostitution and child pornography are examples of commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Article 25 (1) of the 1992 Constitution stipulates that “All persons shall have the right to equal educational opportunities and facilities and with a view to achieving the full realisation of the right” 25 (1) (a) states that “basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all”.
Sections of the constitution also enjoins Parliament to enact such laws that are necessary to ensure that “parents undertake their natural right and obligation of care, maintenance and upbringing of their children in co-operation with such institutions as Parliament may, by law, prescribe in such manner that in all cases the interest of the children are paramount”, 28 (1) (c) , while 28 (2) states that “Every child has the right to be protected from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to his health, education or development.”
Apart from these constitutional provisions, Ghana was the first country to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of Children, while at the national level the Children’s Act 1998 (Act 560) was promulgated to protect the welfare and interest of Ghanaian children.
It is however unfortunate that despite all these measures some children continue to suffer negative acts that constitute criminal practices that demean, degrade and threaten the physical and psychological integrity of children and subject them to emotional trauma.
Apart from that these children are exposed to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including the deadly HIV/AIDS, apart from becoming teenage mothers and also being denied the right to compulsory basic education.
Recently, International Needs Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), organised a forum on commercial sexual exploitation of children for some pupils in the Ablekuma South Metro.
The children were educated on the causes, effects and prevention of sexual abuse and were cautioned to desist from acts that could result in unwanted pregnancies or make them victims of sexual exploits by tourists.
Unfortunately, most children engaged in commercial sexual exploitation are lured into the business after they have been trafficked from the rural areas to the cities by traffickers who promise them jobs.
Social workers say the practice was also common in communities around the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Agbogbloshie and Konkomba markets and Tema Station, among others.
The causes of this form of inhuman form of exploitation against children could be complex. Could it be due to severe poverty, low value attached to education, family dysfunction, a cultural obligation to help support the family or the need to earn money to simply survive that make children vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation.
Social workers also say there are other non-economic factors that also push children into commercial sexual exploitation. Children who are at the greatest risk of becoming victims of the practice are those that have previously experienced physical or sexual abuse, a family environment of little protection, where caregivers are absent or where there is a high level of violence or alcohol or drug consumption, which induces boys and girls to run away from home making them highly susceptible to abuse.
When contacted, the Executive Director of Children’s Rights International, Bright Appiah said much as there was the need to create awareness for parents to live up to their parental responsibility and appreciate the consequence of their irresponsible behaviour, it was important to look at the effectiveness of the legal framework that protects children.
He said children in Ghana like other citizens, did not just live in a social environment, but rather the laws must be strengthened and implemented to protect children.
He said structures must be put in place to counsel and rehabilitate children who were victims of such exploitation so that they would not consign themselves to such kind of life.
It is obvious that the people who contribute to the exploitation of a child include parents and other family members, friends, peers and teachers, as well as procurers, brothel managers, traffickers and those who engage in sex acts with a child. All these groups of people therefore have respective roles to play to clamp down on commercial sexual exploitation.
NHIS caters for maternity bills - Acquah
04/29/08
Story: Salome Donkor
The Media Relations Officer of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Mr Kwasi Acquah, has stated that with the operation of the NHIS the situation where some women are detained by officials of health institutions for the non-payment of maternity bills, should be a thing of the past.
He said this is because the scheme caters for pre and post-natal care, and cost of delivery, in addition to diseases such as Malaria, Diarrhoea, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, Skin Diseases, Hypertension, Diabetes, Asthma, Breast and Cervical Cancer.
Reacting to reported cases of expectant mothers detained in hospitals after they have been delivered of their babies following their inability to pay their maternity bills, Mr Acquah said it was unreasonable for any women to have such a problem.
He described the NHIS as the only socially accepted programme and the only viable alternative to the cash and carry system, which provides solution to the problems of the country’s health care sector, adding that the scheme was universal, which means that the it was accessible to both the rich and the poor, old and young, as well as men and women.
He said the scheme, which is designed to offer affordable medical care, especially to the poor and vulnerable, covered about 95 per cent of diseases.
He, however, mentioned that currently, certain care like the giving of Optical aids, Hearing aids, Orthopaedic aids, Dentures, Beautification Surgery and AIDS drugs and the treatment of Chronic Renal Failure, and Heart and Brain Surgery were excluded from the benefit package, mainly because it might be too expensive to treat those diseases and therefore other arrangements were being considered to enable people to get these diseases treated.
Mr Acquah said it was unfortunate that some people still felt reluctant to register with the scheme, while others waited till they were sick and decide to do fast-track registration, which attracts extra fees.
He said although the Health Insurance Law enjoined everybody to make contributions into a National Health Insurance Fund through the payment of 2.5 per cent Health Insurance Levy on selected goods and services to enable contributors to access affordable health care in the country’s health facilities, only those who had registered benefited from the scheme, stressing that “those who have not registered with the scheme are cheating themselves”.
He said the practice whereby some people went to the aid of nursing mothers who were “detained” in hospitals for the non-payment of their medical bills should be discouraged to encourage all to register with the scheme.
According him, the NHIS has taken its corporate image and that by the end of this month, it would unveil the Governance Charter, to govern the activities of the NHIS, and the Audit Charter to make the system more exposed so that everybody would have confidence in it.
He further indicated that by May this year a pilot project to introduce uniformity in the system to enable NHIS card bearers to access the scheme in any part of the country, would kick off.
Story: Salome Donkor
The Media Relations Officer of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Mr Kwasi Acquah, has stated that with the operation of the NHIS the situation where some women are detained by officials of health institutions for the non-payment of maternity bills, should be a thing of the past.
He said this is because the scheme caters for pre and post-natal care, and cost of delivery, in addition to diseases such as Malaria, Diarrhoea, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, Skin Diseases, Hypertension, Diabetes, Asthma, Breast and Cervical Cancer.
Reacting to reported cases of expectant mothers detained in hospitals after they have been delivered of their babies following their inability to pay their maternity bills, Mr Acquah said it was unreasonable for any women to have such a problem.
He described the NHIS as the only socially accepted programme and the only viable alternative to the cash and carry system, which provides solution to the problems of the country’s health care sector, adding that the scheme was universal, which means that the it was accessible to both the rich and the poor, old and young, as well as men and women.
He said the scheme, which is designed to offer affordable medical care, especially to the poor and vulnerable, covered about 95 per cent of diseases.
He, however, mentioned that currently, certain care like the giving of Optical aids, Hearing aids, Orthopaedic aids, Dentures, Beautification Surgery and AIDS drugs and the treatment of Chronic Renal Failure, and Heart and Brain Surgery were excluded from the benefit package, mainly because it might be too expensive to treat those diseases and therefore other arrangements were being considered to enable people to get these diseases treated.
Mr Acquah said it was unfortunate that some people still felt reluctant to register with the scheme, while others waited till they were sick and decide to do fast-track registration, which attracts extra fees.
He said although the Health Insurance Law enjoined everybody to make contributions into a National Health Insurance Fund through the payment of 2.5 per cent Health Insurance Levy on selected goods and services to enable contributors to access affordable health care in the country’s health facilities, only those who had registered benefited from the scheme, stressing that “those who have not registered with the scheme are cheating themselves”.
He said the practice whereby some people went to the aid of nursing mothers who were “detained” in hospitals for the non-payment of their medical bills should be discouraged to encourage all to register with the scheme.
According him, the NHIS has taken its corporate image and that by the end of this month, it would unveil the Governance Charter, to govern the activities of the NHIS, and the Audit Charter to make the system more exposed so that everybody would have confidence in it.
He further indicated that by May this year a pilot project to introduce uniformity in the system to enable NHIS card bearers to access the scheme in any part of the country, would kick off.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Significance of World Malaria Day
Article: Salome Donkor
GHANA will join the global community to mark the first World Malaria Day (WMD) tomorrow, April 25. The theme for the 2008 WMD is “Malaria - A Disease Without Borders”, and the slogan is: “Unite to Combat Malaria”.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that malaria continues to haunt 40 per cent of the world's population and affects more than 500 million people a year, killing more than 1 million.
The burden of malaria is heaviest in sub-Saharan Africa but the disease also afflicts Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and even parts of Europe.
The World Malaria Day - which was instituted by the World Health Assembly at its 60th Session in May 2007 - is a day for recognising the global effort at providing effective control to malaria.
It is also an opportunity for countries in the affected regions to learn from each other's experiences, support each other's efforts and encourage new donors to join a global partnership against malaria.
It is also for research and academic institutions to flag their scientific advances to both experts and the general public; and for international partners, companies and foundations to showcase their efforts and reflect on how to scale up what has worked out.
Before the institution of the WMD last year, African heads of state have signed a declaration at Abuja, Nigeria in April 2000 calling for at least one billion US dollars a year to be made available to the Roll Back Malaria movement in Africa to help achieve its aims of reducing malaria deaths by half at the end of the decade.
Known as the Abuja Declaration on Roll Back Malaria in Africa, the initiative taken in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals, culminated in the celebration of Africa Malaria Day, which prevailed until the WHO instituted WMD at its 60th Session in May last year.
Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases and an enormous public health problem.
The free encyclopaedia says each year, malaria affects approximately 515 million people and kills between one and three million people, the majority of whom are young children in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for about one in five of all childhood deaths.
It also contributes greatly to anaemia among children which is the major cause of their poor growth and development.
Malaria infection during pregnancy is associated with severe anaemia and other illness in the mother and contributes to low birth weight among new-born infants — one of the leading risk factors for infant mortality and sub-optimal growth and development.
Malaria parasites are transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes. The parasites multiply in red blood cells, causing symptoms of anaemia (light headedness, shortness of breath, etc.), as well as other general symptoms such as fever, chills, nausea, flu-like illness, and in severe cases, coma and death.
Malaria is both preventable and treatable, while effective preventive and curative tools have been developed. The transmission of the disease can be reduced by preventing mosquito bites with the use of mosquito nets and insect repellents, or by mosquito control measures such as spraying insecticides inside houses and draining standing water where mosquitoes lay their eggs.
Sleeping under insecticide treated nets can reduce overall child mortality by 20 per cent. There is evidence that insecticide treated nets (ITNs), when consistently and correctly used, can save six child lives per year for every one thousand children sleeping under them.
Unfortunately, many children, especially in Africa, continue to die from malaria since they do not sleep under insecticide-treated nets and are unable to access life-saving treatment within 24 hours of onset of symptoms.
According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), between 3-3.5 million cases of malaria were reported in Ghana each year. The disease accounts for more than 61 per cent of hospital admissions of children under five years, and 8 per cent of admissions of pregnant women.
In support of the national malaria prevention programmes the United States Government announced in December 2006, that Ghana had been selected as one of the eight countries to benefit from an initiative to rapidly scale up malaria prevention and treatment interventions in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease was most prevalent under a five-year, $1.2 billion project.
The most up-to-date information on nation-wide coverage of key malaria prevention and control
measures in Ghana comes from a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, conducted from August to early October 2006, which indicates that approximately 30 per cent of households reportedly own at least one bed net (of any type) while almost 19 per cent reportedly own one or more insecticide-treated nets (ITN).
In order to extend the reach of malaria interventions to the community level, the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) was instituted to reduce malaria mortality by 50 per cent in vulnerable groups, namely pregnant women, children under five years of age, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
This will be accomplished by achieving 85 per cent coverage of groups at risk with four key interventions which are the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for malaria in pregnancy, use of ITNs, and indoor spraying with residual insecticides (IRS).
To mark the Day, the MOH will hold a one-day seminar for media practitioners in Accra to sensitise them to malaria control and prevention programmes.
The African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN), which is a network of African journalists and scientists working together to fight malaria in Africa is organising a four-day workshop to commemorate the day.
On this year's World Malaria Day, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership - which includes WHO - will focus on malaria as a global health problem and partners will engage the international community in their fight against malaria.
Another goal of the PMI is to strengthen and improve the capacity of indigenous non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to undertake malaria prevention and control activities under the leadership of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP).
As depicted in the theme for this year’s celebration, malaria is a disease without borders and all are at risk, especially pregnant women and children under five.
We all need to unite to combat malaria through the use of locally appropriate vector control methods such as the use of ITNs, and, where appropriate, indoor residual spraying (IRS) and, in some settings, other biological and environmental measures, such as the maintenance of clean surroundings to drive away mosquitoes.
The organisers of the first World Malaria Day have launched an internet campaign in a bid to get as many people as possible to involve themselves in the event on April 25 at the Roll Back Malaria's website, where they can find out what events are taking place.
GHANA will join the global community to mark the first World Malaria Day (WMD) tomorrow, April 25. The theme for the 2008 WMD is “Malaria - A Disease Without Borders”, and the slogan is: “Unite to Combat Malaria”.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that malaria continues to haunt 40 per cent of the world's population and affects more than 500 million people a year, killing more than 1 million.
The burden of malaria is heaviest in sub-Saharan Africa but the disease also afflicts Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and even parts of Europe.
The World Malaria Day - which was instituted by the World Health Assembly at its 60th Session in May 2007 - is a day for recognising the global effort at providing effective control to malaria.
It is also an opportunity for countries in the affected regions to learn from each other's experiences, support each other's efforts and encourage new donors to join a global partnership against malaria.
It is also for research and academic institutions to flag their scientific advances to both experts and the general public; and for international partners, companies and foundations to showcase their efforts and reflect on how to scale up what has worked out.
Before the institution of the WMD last year, African heads of state have signed a declaration at Abuja, Nigeria in April 2000 calling for at least one billion US dollars a year to be made available to the Roll Back Malaria movement in Africa to help achieve its aims of reducing malaria deaths by half at the end of the decade.
Known as the Abuja Declaration on Roll Back Malaria in Africa, the initiative taken in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals, culminated in the celebration of Africa Malaria Day, which prevailed until the WHO instituted WMD at its 60th Session in May last year.
Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases and an enormous public health problem.
The free encyclopaedia says each year, malaria affects approximately 515 million people and kills between one and three million people, the majority of whom are young children in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for about one in five of all childhood deaths.
It also contributes greatly to anaemia among children which is the major cause of their poor growth and development.
Malaria infection during pregnancy is associated with severe anaemia and other illness in the mother and contributes to low birth weight among new-born infants — one of the leading risk factors for infant mortality and sub-optimal growth and development.
Malaria parasites are transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes. The parasites multiply in red blood cells, causing symptoms of anaemia (light headedness, shortness of breath, etc.), as well as other general symptoms such as fever, chills, nausea, flu-like illness, and in severe cases, coma and death.
Malaria is both preventable and treatable, while effective preventive and curative tools have been developed. The transmission of the disease can be reduced by preventing mosquito bites with the use of mosquito nets and insect repellents, or by mosquito control measures such as spraying insecticides inside houses and draining standing water where mosquitoes lay their eggs.
Sleeping under insecticide treated nets can reduce overall child mortality by 20 per cent. There is evidence that insecticide treated nets (ITNs), when consistently and correctly used, can save six child lives per year for every one thousand children sleeping under them.
Unfortunately, many children, especially in Africa, continue to die from malaria since they do not sleep under insecticide-treated nets and are unable to access life-saving treatment within 24 hours of onset of symptoms.
According to the Ministry of Health (MOH), between 3-3.5 million cases of malaria were reported in Ghana each year. The disease accounts for more than 61 per cent of hospital admissions of children under five years, and 8 per cent of admissions of pregnant women.
In support of the national malaria prevention programmes the United States Government announced in December 2006, that Ghana had been selected as one of the eight countries to benefit from an initiative to rapidly scale up malaria prevention and treatment interventions in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease was most prevalent under a five-year, $1.2 billion project.
The most up-to-date information on nation-wide coverage of key malaria prevention and control
measures in Ghana comes from a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, conducted from August to early October 2006, which indicates that approximately 30 per cent of households reportedly own at least one bed net (of any type) while almost 19 per cent reportedly own one or more insecticide-treated nets (ITN).
In order to extend the reach of malaria interventions to the community level, the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) was instituted to reduce malaria mortality by 50 per cent in vulnerable groups, namely pregnant women, children under five years of age, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
This will be accomplished by achieving 85 per cent coverage of groups at risk with four key interventions which are the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for malaria in pregnancy, use of ITNs, and indoor spraying with residual insecticides (IRS).
To mark the Day, the MOH will hold a one-day seminar for media practitioners in Accra to sensitise them to malaria control and prevention programmes.
The African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN), which is a network of African journalists and scientists working together to fight malaria in Africa is organising a four-day workshop to commemorate the day.
On this year's World Malaria Day, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership - which includes WHO - will focus on malaria as a global health problem and partners will engage the international community in their fight against malaria.
Another goal of the PMI is to strengthen and improve the capacity of indigenous non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to undertake malaria prevention and control activities under the leadership of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP).
As depicted in the theme for this year’s celebration, malaria is a disease without borders and all are at risk, especially pregnant women and children under five.
We all need to unite to combat malaria through the use of locally appropriate vector control methods such as the use of ITNs, and, where appropriate, indoor residual spraying (IRS) and, in some settings, other biological and environmental measures, such as the maintenance of clean surroundings to drive away mosquitoes.
The organisers of the first World Malaria Day have launched an internet campaign in a bid to get as many people as possible to involve themselves in the event on April 25 at the Roll Back Malaria's website, where they can find out what events are taking place.
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