By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Nov. 11, GNA-The Social Workers Association of Ghana has held its maiden Social Workers Conference, revealing that Ghana cannot boast of even one standard shelter facility for juveniles and the vulnerable in the country.
Mr Divine Arnold Kodjo Exorgbe, the National President of SWAG, said in an address that “as a nation, we cannot boast of at least one standard shelter facility for each of the sixteen (16) regions left alone a district in Ghana as a government institution. It is very sad.”
He indicated that institutions such as Remand Homes, Correctional Centres, Destitute Homes, Shelters for Abused Victims, and others that were meant to accommodate or house some sections of Ghana’s vulnerable population in times of need had been so dilapidated and, in most cases, not in existence.
He questioned how the country could develop if its vulnerable population were left behind in terms of their needs, recommending that the government must instruct the metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) to put up at least one shelter in their area.
Touching on the need for a Social Protection Fund to address other vulnerability issues in Ghana, SWAG stated that even though the government of Ghana and its donor partners had been trying their best to alleviate the plight of the vulnerable, there was a huge gap of financial support to address various challenges that confront the vulnerable in Ghana.
Mr Exorgbe stated that even though social welfare practitioners were aware of some interventions such as the Disability Fund, the Ghana Aids Commission’s support for the HIV and AIDS patients, the Integrated Social Services (ISS) from UNICEF, and the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme, it was not sufficient.
He explained that vulnerability was not limited to those covered in these programmes only, stating that “There are huge gaps of support. We can look at foreign children on our streets begging for alms. There is also no mandatory support for the ageing vulnerable group. Another critical area of interest is support for trafficked children and support for the victims of domestic violence. Clearly, there is a clear cut to social exclusion, and we call on the government to address the concerns of these vulnerable groups.”
The SWAG national president disclosed that they were aware of the challenges that confront the assemblies, adding that social works departments’ reliance on the assemblies had oftentimes not yielded the best outcome of addressing the concerns of the vulnerable that have been excluded from the mandatory financial support.
“As an association, we are of the view that there is a need for proper funding that could address financial gaps and vehicles for the officers, which is crucial in resolving the needs of all vulnerable in Ghana. We therefore call on the government to set aside what we term the ‘Social Protection Fund’ that could address some of these financial gaps in relation to the support for other vulnerable groups. As a matter of agency, vehicles should be bought for social development class activities,” he added.
The conference was used to engage all major stakeholders and present a position paper on the passage of the Professional Social Work Bill, the Aged Bill, Strengthening Structures of Decentralised Social Development Class at the MMDAs, the Disability Act, 715 of 2006, and Disability Guidelines.
The social workers also called for representation of SWAG members on the Inter-Ministerial Committees, including that of the Social Workers Bill, to highlight issues of vulnerability and how to address them.
SWAG, whose formation started in 2017, aimed at bringing all social workers together to promote and protect the profession and get them the recognition they deserved as a professional body. Its goal is to work in the interest of the marginalised, socially excluded, and other vulnerable categories in society.
GNA