Bolgatanga, Oct. 13, GNA – Mrs Georgina Aberese-Ako, the Acting Upper East Regional Director of the Department of Children, has called on parents and stakeholders to create equal opportunities for children, especially girls, to unearth their potentials.
She said girls were endowed with abilities and the strength to be successful
However, they are faced with challenges from home and society that impede their growth and development.
Speaking at a forum in Bolgatanga organized by the Youth Harvest Foundation Ghana (YHFG) as part of activities marking this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, she said parents who were the primary stakeholders needed to give an equal platform to their children irrespective of their sex.
This, she added, would not only secure a better future for the girls and achieve gender parity but would contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Day was held on the theme: “My Voice, Our Equal Future” and brought together selected young girls across the region.
The girls carried placards some of which read “Empower girls, promote gender equality,” “hear our voice to change the future,” “gender mainstreaming is key for development,” sexual and reproductive health is our right,” among others.
The Acting Regional Director said if the girl child was supported in every aspect of her life, particularly in her formative ages, she would be able to achieve greater aspirations in all spheres and contribute to the sustainable development of the country.
Mrs Aberese-Ako noted that child marriage continued to be the biggest challenge in the Upper East Region, with a record of 28 per cent.
“Quite apart from teenage pregnancy, child labour, sexual and gender-based violence, another worrying trend we are picking recently in the region is child prostitution all these affect the progress of the girl child and lead to several cases of abuse, school dropouts and migration,” She added.
Mrs Aberese-Ako explained that although efforts had been made to reduce child marriage from 50 per cent a few years to the current 28 per cent, more still needed to be done to eliminate the impediments, suppressing the growth and development of girls.
She said parents needed to be empowered to value the contribution of girls to societal development to invest in their future and provide not only the basic needs but also ensure that there was effective communication between the parents and the girl child on sexual and reproductive health issues.
Mrs Priscilla Nyaaba, the Executive Director, YHFG, noted that empowering girls was the surest way to attaining a world without discrimination and a better future for the country.
She noted that the International Day of the Girl Child, which is marked on October 11 annually, aimed to highlight the plight of girls and to influence policy to promote their growth and development.
GNA