By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah GNA
Accra, Sept. 18, GNA — Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, says the government is exploring sustainable ways to generate additional revenue to strengthen financing for child protection programmes and improve children’s welfare and development.
The move is expected to include measures to curb illicit financial transactions and strengthen collaboration with development partners, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the private sector.
Dr Lartey made this known through a representative, Reverend Israel Akrobeto, at a national dialogue on child protection financing, organised by the SOS Children Village (CV) and Joy News nationally, aimed at moving child financing conversation beyond policy commitment to practical investment for timely and effective protection and support.
The event, held on the theme “Beyond the Gaps: Financing Child Protection to Secure Every Child’s Future”, brought together key duty bearers and stakeholders to deliberate on challenges affecting child protection and explore practical solutions to strengthen the sector.
The programme was supported by development partners and organisations, including International Justice Mission (IJM), World Vision, the Embassy of Norway, Plan International and United Bank for Africa (UBA), among others.
Dr Lartey said although the government over the years had been committed to financing children, there was an absence of a universal and statutory child grant, coupled with existing inequalities and delays in child-related spending, saying that these challenges had a negative impact on the human capital development required to drive national growth and development.
She mentioned that the government would continue to explore sustainable ways of generating additional revenue to finance the child protection sector, adding that this could be achieved through measures to curb illicit financial transactions and strengthen collaboration with development partners, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the private sector.
The minister said child-related spending must be prioritised during the early years of life through family income support, including targeted services, as well as maternal and early parenting support.
She said the Integrated Social Services initiative, which is now operational in all districts, would ensure that child protection was mainstreamed into the work plans of district assemblies and that effective linkages were established among social protection interventions for children and effective targeting mechanisms would also help ensure the equitable distribution of resources.
She mentioned that fulfilling the rights of children requires a multi-sectoral approach. We therefore call on all stakeholders, including ministries, departments and agencies, civil society organisations’, development partners, non-governmental organisations and the private sector to work towards a common goal of preventing harm to children.
Dr Lartey called on the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, non-government organisations and the private sector to work together to prevent harm to children and ensure their access to quality education, healthcare and justice.
Mr Mike Arthur, SOS Children’s Village Board Member, said Ghana had a comprehensive child protection framework anchored in the Child and Family Welfare Policy and the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), which sought to protect children under 18 from violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect.
He added that Ghana has also demonstrated its commitment to children’s rights by becoming the first country to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990.
Mr Arthur said despite these policies and laws, significant challenges remain, including inadequate resources for social welfare departments, delays in budget disbursement, uncoordinated private-sector participation, and unclear referral pathways among stakeholders.
He said the Department of Social Welfare under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection was mandated to ensure the protection and welfare of children across communities in Ghana and asked, “How can we close the funding gap so these institutions can overcome the challenges that hinder?”
Mr Kwasi Asante, Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF, said Ghana’s 2026 budget showed increased nominal government commitment to child protection, with GHC3.2 billion allocated to the Ministry of Gender, up from GHC2.9 billion in 2025.
He, however, said that child protection-related interventions received GHC 165 million, representing only 0.04 per cent of total government expenditure, stating that donor funding for child protection had declined from 14.5 per cent in 2022 to 3.4 per cent in 2026, while internally generated funds had also fallen to almost zero.
He called for stronger protection of child protection financing, improved visibility of budget allocations, an increased social welfare workforce, and sustainable domestic funding for the Integrated Social Services and Social Welfare Information Management Systems.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter Elizabeth Larkwor Baah, GNA
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]