By Edward Acquah
Accra, Jan. 10, GNA – Some media practitioners have called for broader collaboration among institutions working in the child protection and human rights sector to strengthen the fight against child labour in the cocoa sector.
They also worry about the limited collaboration among stakeholders in combatting the menace and rallied frontline actors to work together and coordinate their efforts to achieve efficiency.
They made the call at a workshop organised by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) at Assin Fosu in the Central Region as part of efforts to enhance the capacity of journalists to effectively report on child labour issues.
The training introduced participants to the Landscape and Referral Project being implemented by the ICI and its partners and the progress made thus far.
It also assembled frontline actors involved in the implementation of the Project to share their experiences with the journalists and discuss areas for further collaboration and improvement.
The ICI is an organisation working to protect the rights of children and adults in cocoa-growing areas.
It is estimated that about 1.56 million children are in child labour in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana and studies have shown that most of the children who work on cocoa farms do so within their household or extended family.
The ICI is implementing the Landscape and Referral Project in Assin North, Assin Central and Assin South districts in the Central Region, and the Asunafo North Municipality in the Ahafo Region.
The purpose of the project is to enhance coordination of community projects among stakeholders by creating connection and synergy among all players working to eliminate child labour in the cocoa sector.
Mr. Dominic Hlordzi, the Organising Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association, urged the participants to build rapport with key actors in the fight against child labour in their various districts and highlight the issues in their reportage.
That, he said, would help to intensify efforts towards eliminating child labour in the cocoa sector.
Mr. George-Ramsey Banamba, Chief Editor, Ghana News Agency, encouraged the journalists to pay attention to the issues discussed and pursue impactful stories on child labour capable of winning local and international awards.
Mr. Isadore Armah, Landscape Project and Partner Support Manager, ICI, appealed to journalists to highlight relevant issues on child labour in their reports to help create awareness on the subject and reduce fear among community members.
Mr Peter Antwi, Deputy Director at the Monitoring, Planning and Evaluation Directorate, Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, urged journalists to read the laws on child protection to better explain what constituted child labour and better inform the public.
He also asked media practitioners to always engage experts on issues relating to child labour to avoid misrepresentation of the issues and misinformation.
GNA