By Muniratu Akweley Issah & Jennifer Tetteh
Accra, July 14, GNA- The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) has launched an adoption training manual which seeks to provide proper conduct of adoption processes in the country.
The manual would help prospective applicants to get a better understanding of adoption and parenting skills in providing better care for the children, adding that it would provide the needed basic knowledge and skills to fulfil their roles and responsibilities as adoptive parents.
The Children’s Amendment Act, 2016, states that a child may be adopted if that child is less than 18 years of age, in need of care and protection and under a care order.
The training manual, which seeks to promote the wellbeing and best interest of the child would serve as a requirement in line with the Adoption Regulations 2018 LI 2360 to train prospective applicants to undergo a mandatory 30-hour training as a prospective parent and certified before matching and placement of an adoptable child with them.
Ghana became the first country in the world to ratify the treaty, for the convention of rights of the child in 1990 and committed to adopt into national law.
Madam Zuweira Abudu, Minister, Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSPO), noted that the opportunity to comply with the Hague Convention did not only help to reform the laws to protect children under intercountry adoption but had given the opportunity to strengthen the Ghanaian law on alternative care for children.
Madam Zuweira expressed satisfaction with the adoption manual, which she said, would ensure an effective adoption process in the country as well as protect children from harm and commended the Central Adoption Committee for efficient work done.
Reverend Dr Comfort Asare, Director, Department of Social Welfare at the MOGCSP, said the adoption manual would help prepare the minds of prospective parents to handle children who were placed with them very well.
She noted that some adults had not lived with children before and lacked basic skills, hence the training was necessary to ensure that such children placed were well protected from harm as well as respected the laws binding the adoption process.
She said: “Improper care puts children under distress situations. We need to have a training manual that will train adoption parents to know the rights of the children and the laws that protect the rights of children. It is one of the requirements from the Hague on the convention for adoption and we are fulfilling the requirement.”
Mr Fred Sakyi Boafo, Member of the Technical Committee, stated that, the purpose of the manual was to provide the needed materials for the central Adoption Authority, Department of Social Welfare and Adoption Agencies to conduct training for persons whose applications to adopt had been approved by the Adoption Technical Committee.
Mr Boafo made it known that the manual would also serve as a guide for every individual and organisation taking care of adoption children to provide better care and protection in raising them to become responsible people in society.
Young Joo LEE, Child Protection Specialist from UNICEF, acknowledged Ghana’s commitment to the protection of the rights of children.
She said UNICEF was ready to assist in the implementation as well as provide all technical support for the training to advance Ghana’s cause.
GNA