By Solomon Gumah
Kasalgu (N/R), June 24, GNA – The Northern Regional Programme of ActionAid Ghana, has marked this year’s International Day of the African Child with pupils at Kasalgu in the Sagnarigu Municipality of the Northern Region.
The commemoration, organised in partnership with the Department of Children, Narcotics Commission, and the Ghana Education Service, was to sensitise pupils on the need to stay away from abusing drugs and to focus on their education.
It was on the local theme: “The Effects of Substance Abuse on Children’s Education” and brought together students from basic schools within the Municipality including Kasalgu Zion Junior High School, Nyerizee Primary School, Sagnarigu Girls’ Model Primary and Junior High Schools, Kasalgu Al-Egasa Primary School, and Kpene Primary School.
As part of the commemoration, the students participated in a drama series showcasing the causes, effects, and the need for stakeholders to support the fight against substance abuse among young people.
Mrs Beatrice Biije, Programmes Officer at ActionAid Ghana, speaking during the event, said prior to the commemoration, ActionAid Ghana and partners had sensitised some pupils in the Tamale and Sagnarigu Municipality to increase their awareness on the effects of drug abuse.
She said the event was part of efforts to nurture and protect the rights and well-being of vulnerable children, identifying and highlighting some of the key challenges confronting their growth and development, and drawing duty-bearers’ attention to the need to address the situation.
Mrs Biije underscored the need for all stakeholders to come to terms with the realities that many children in Africa were still confronted with, which impeded their growth, and the need for urgent actions to reverse the worrying trend.
She called on the government to prioritise implementing and enforcing laws on children’s welfare to ensure that they were provided with the right environment to grow and thrive.
Mr Inusah Iddrisu, Senior Public Education Officer and Investigator at the Northern Regional Office of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice said the impact of substance abuse was adversely affecting children’s education as many of them were out of school.
He attributed the development to the government’s inability to provide adequate infrastructure for teaching and learning, parental neglect, forced/child marriage, and teenage pregnancy, among others.
He called on the government and other development partners to prioritise investing more resources into children’s education to safeguard their future.
Mr Iddrisu Sunday, Northern Regional Director, Department of Children, advised children to resist every temptation to indulge in substance abuse and focus their attention on their studies to become responsible citizens.
The International Day of the African Child is commemorated annually on June 16, to raise more awareness around the need for education and opportunities for children in Africa.
GNA