The Hon. Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Morrison has told Parliament that, her Ministry would put in every effort to deal with high number of street children in Accra.
Speaking at the plenary of Ghana’s Parliament, the Minister explained that, in 2018, she led a team to rescue children around Marina-Mall and Opeibea area within the Kotoka International Airport in Accra and sent them to the social welfare in Madina, Accra.
The Minister revealed that, the Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry has team up with the national security to engage with more stakeholders to develop and implement a more sustainable strategy that would permanently address the challenges of children that continue reappearing on our streets.
She said, per collected data at her disposal, about four thousand, eight hundred and nine children (4,809 children) are on the street of Accra of which twenty one of these children who were not national from Niger has been repatriated back to their homeland.
She said, with the support of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly Task force , her Ministry was able to rescue children from the streets of Kwame Nkrumah circle through to Kaneshie of which most of these children were Nigerians who were been used by their parents as frontline beggars.
Madam Morrison added that, it is important to continue to strengthening the social welfare program that provides preventive and responsive child protection services.
The Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration would continue to place emphasis on the implementation of strategies and programs to reduce poverty and vulnerability.
The Minister’s response came at the plenary on Thursday 11 June, 2020, when she was answering a question asked by the Member of Parliament for Afigya Sekyere East, Mrs Mavis Nkansah – Boadu, seeking the measures being put in place by government and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in dealing with the issue of street children and beggars off the streets in Accra and other parts in country.
