By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah
Accra, Sept. 24, GNA —The SOS Children’s Villages Ghana (SOS CV Ghana), in collaboration with Joy News, has called for targeted and sustained investment in child protection to safeguard vulnerable children, particularly victims of abuse, neglect, exploitation and those in underserved communities.
The organisations said that although Ghana had made progress in developing laws and policies to protect children, gaps in financing continued to affect the ability of institutions and frontline workers to respond effectively to children at risk.
The call was made during a dialogue, held in partnership with United Bank of Africa, which brought together stakeholders from government, civil society organisations, development partners, the private sector and other sectors to discuss practical ways of strengthening Ghana’s child protection system.
The event featured children holding placards and calling on authorities to increase investment in child protection and financing to safeguard their rights and future.
Development partners, organisations and participants expressed concern that some children continued to fall through the cracks of existing systems, particularly children out of school and pointed out the necessity to invest in financing children’s protection.
Mr Mike Arthur, a Board Member of SOS CV Ghana, underscored the need for stronger implementation of Ghana’s child protection laws and policies to safeguard the rights and welfare of children.
He said Ghana had put in place a comprehensive child protection framework, including the Child and Family Welfare Policy and the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), which provided for the protection of children below 18 years against violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect.
Ghana’s commitment to the promotion and protection of children’s rights was further demonstrated by its ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, making it the first country to do so.
Mr Arthur, however, noted that significant gaps remained in the implementation of the framework, citing inadequate resources for social welfare departments, delays in the disbursement of funds, weak coordination of private-sector interventions and unclear referral pathways among child protection stakeholders.
Dr John Mikal Kvistad the, Ambassador of Norway to Ghana, reaffirmed support for efforts to protect vulnerable children in Ghana, noting that his outfit supports a programme aimed at protecting children at risk of losing parental care through its development aid agency, Norad.
Dr Kvistad said the initiative’s focus on coordinated advocacy and strengthening child protection systems aligns with Ghana’s Child and Family Welfare Policy and national efforts to safeguard vulnerable children, stating that addressing child trafficking, child labour and physical punishment required accountable institutions, collaboration and sustainable financing.
He said the dialogue provided an important platform to address the gap between child protection policies and their implementation and reaffirmed their commitment to the rights of children to protection, development, education and participation without discrimination under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Mr Kwasi Asante, Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF, said the 2026 budget allocated GHC3.2 billion to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, up from GHC2.9 billion in 2025, indicating an increase in nominal allocation.
Mr Asante said child protection-related interventions across various sectors received GHC165 million in 2026, compared with over GHC 7 million in 2021, adding, however, that the GHC165 million represented only 0.04 per cent of total government expenditure, raising concerns about the level of prioritisation of child protection financing.
He further said financing from development partners had declined significantly, from 14.5 per cent of child protection financing in 2022 to 3.4 per cent in 2026, while internally generated funds had fallen from seven per cent to almost zero.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Elizabeth Larkwor Baah, GNA
Email: [email protected]