The elimination of child labour in Ghana requires a collective effort in a holistic manner by all stakeholders, Mr Paschal Ajongba Kaba, the Bono Regional Secretary of the Ghana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), said on Thursday.
That would involve the strengthening of the legal frameworks for preventing child exploitation of all forms to secure the future of children, he said.
Mr Kaba said this at a capacity building workshop, organised for the media in Sunyani by ActionAid Ghana (AAG), a non-governmental organisation, to facilitate the effective and successful implementation of its Modern Day Slavery Project.
The project is being implemented in the Bono, Oti, Northern and Upper West regions.
Thirty journalists from the Bono Region participated, which sensitised them on issues including modern slavery, child labour, forced labour, human trafficking and unfair contract practices.
The training was to sensitise the media personnel to be decorous in their reportage on child labour related issues while providing the platform to form partnership with the AAG to contribute effectively to the campaign against modern slavery.
Mr Kaba said about 39 per cent of the country’s 6.36 million child-population were involved in economic activities whereas about 1.59 million school children were still engaged in activities classified as child labour.
The children were mostly engaged during weekends and holidays to assist their parents and guardians in weeding of farms, gathering and carrying cocoa pods to pod breaking points.
About 76 per cent of all children involved in child labour lived with both parents, he said, and that 90 per cent of those children did domestic chores too.
The 1992 Constitution guaranteed the protection of children from engaging in any work considered injurious to their health, education and development, Mr Kaba said.
It also consecrated the rights of children to access education and not to be engaged in exploitative work.
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