Addressing the Needs of Children

RIGHT TO FOOD
In this our country, one out of five children under the age of five are developing poorly in
growth, while one in ten is underweight for their age. Two in three babies are also at risk of
being physically and neurologically underdeveloped as a result of not getting enough healthy
food for good health. The aftermath of malnutrition in young children can have devastating
consequences on their development and their lives: learning difficulties, weakened immune
systems, increased risk of infections. The large decrease in the number of breastfed children and
low dietary diversity are the main factors of malnutrition in young children.

RIGHT TO HEALTH
The reduction in the large scale of death rate of children under five is very slow in the country
due to lack of care, especially during the first 28 days of newborns. Neonatal mortality is due to
premature births, infections and complications during and before childbirth. Despite the
availability of prenatal care and the presence of skilled midwives in health facilities during
childbirth, new-born and maternal deaths remain high. In addition, with almost half of girls
affected, anaemia is a real public health problem. Anaemia is one of the causes of maternal
mortality, low birth weight and premature births.
Despite the efforts and progress made to increase vaccination and ensure children’s immunity to
the most common diseases, many children are not vaccinated and are affected by these diseases
from a young age. This mainly affects children in densely populated urban areas, such as the
centre of large cities or in areas of the country that remain difficult to access.

RIGHT TO EDUCATION
In Ghana, 87% of boys and 86% of girls are enrolled in school, and 94% of them complete
primary school. In contrast, only 58% of boys and 57% of girls attend secondary school. Those
who pursue their studies beyond high school are rare. What is striking is to see the great parity
of access to education the percentages of boys and girls going to school being almost identical.
Despite these rather positive statistics, teaching and learning conditions are still far from ideal for
the education of children. Classes are overcrowded, course materials are lacking and there are not enough
competent teachers. As for infrastructure, sanitary facilities are too often inadequate. In addition, although
parity is respected regarding completion of primary school, girls have greater difficulty completing
secondary school, generally because of poverty and gender

However, the literacy rate for women (84%) is higher than that of men (74%). When children have
disabilities, their inclusion in the school system is still too low.
Risk factors -> Country-specific challenges
Labour and bondage
About 25% of Ghanaian children work. Almost 80% of them work in agriculture; around 18%
work in services and the rest in industry. In cities, child labour generally involves working as
street vendors, carrying parcels, shining shoes, helping people with disabilities, or working in
restaurants. In rural areas, the work involves overseeing cattle, cereal cultivation, and fishing or
stone transport. Child labour also includes less visible activities such as prostitution, drug
trafficking or theft.
A major scourge in Ghana is human trafficking, which mainly affects children, specifically girls
aged 7 to 16 and boys aged 10 to 17. The purpose of this trafficking is to reduce children to
slavery and forced labour. Boys are generally employed in the country’s illegal mines, cocoa
plantations or as fishermen, especially on Lake Volta. Another form of servitude is child
domestic labour. This mainly affects girls. What used to happen in the family circle and which
was seen as the training of young girls in their life as future wives and housewives has since
become a commercial affair. It is one of the best-known forms of child labour.

Street children
Children living on the streets are frequent in Ghana. According to a survey led in 2001 by the
Ghana Statistical Service, about 80% of these children are between 5 and 14 years old. As young
as they are, street children must find work to meet their needs. The difficult living conditions on
the streets and their lack of professional skills push many children into prostitution in order to
survive. Their precarious situation makes them particularly vulnerable
to exploitation and trafficking.
Unsurprisingly, most of these children left school prematurely, which is seen in an illiteracy rate
of around 70%. Accra, the country’s capital with over 5 million people, is the Ghanaian city with
the most street children. The underlying causes, which push those children into such
precariousness, are in particular rural flight, poverty in the family environment, difficult
economic conditions, which particularly affect the neighbourhoods and regions from which these
children come.

Violence and abuse

As a 2013 UNICEF report shows, verbal, emotional and physical abuse in many forms are part
of everyday life for many children in Ghana. In this 2013 study, more than 57% of the children
questioned, aged 14 to 17 said they were hit at home, either regularly or very often. At the same
time, 34% testified to violence endured at school by teachers. The use of violence to educate and
reprimand children is part of the country’s social norms. Furthermore, this social phenomenon is
institutionally reinforced by laws, allowing the use of “reasonable” physical sanctions on
children by parents.
Sexual abuse of children is still common. A 2015 study showed that the prevalence of children
who had been sexually abused was around 27% for girls and 11% for boys. Unsurprisingly, girls
are more likely to be sexually abused than boys. Abused children sometimes have great difficulty
in disclosing this abuse to those around them, for several reasons. Among them: believing they
can handle it on their own, the conviction that they wanted this sexual act, perceiving the abuse
as normal, the fear of being stigmatized or the feeling of betraying a friend by revealing the
abuse they suffered.
In the north of Ghana, as in parts of other West African countries, ancient traditions and rituals
have given rise to ritual killings of children. Most of these children suffer from a disability, and
the reason for their ritual killing often stems from the belief that they are possessed by an evil
spirit which brings bad luck to those around them. Poverty, ignorance and the marginalization of
some communities are the underlying causes. Unfortunately, these murders go unrecorded and
no one knows how many children die each year by these obscure practices.

Children in poverty are more likely to be exposed to the stress of violence, gangs and drugs.
This can negatively affect brain development and long-term well-being. Your support during this
vulnerable time helps children and youth set their own goals to build a life free from poverty.