Takoradi-Ghana, Nov. 21, GNA – Nana Kobena Nketsia V, the Omanhen of the Essikado Traditional Area, has called on society to adopt prudent measures to enhance the development of the Ghanaian child.
He said children represented the future and how society treated them would reflect on how they would behave in the near future.
“Children are the real voices of God…they must also be listened to so that we don’t mess things up for them,” Nana Nketsia told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Takoradi, to mark the World Children’s Day.
World Children’s Day is celebrated on November 20 annually to promote international togetherness and awareness among children and improve their welfare.
It is celebrated to highlight the achievements, challenges and way forward in promoting and protecting the rights of the child.
The Day also marks the anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration and Convention on Children’s Rights.
This year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) wants to remind world leaders to “fulfil the promise of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
The Global theme for the celebration is “Inclusion, for Every Child.”
Research had established that children form one of the vulnerable groups in society who frequently experienced various forms of violence including verbal, emotional, physical and sexual.
Ms Eva Ankrah, the Executive Director of the Human Rights Development Services, said social norms endorsing violence against children in Ghana were widespread and entrenched.
Some were seen as acts of culture, which every child must undergo to be recognised and accepted in society, “an obviously wrong position by sections of the public,” she said.
Rather, parents, teachers, religious leaders and all stakeholders had the responsibility to bring up children and enhance their development in a conducive environment where the child would thrive and grow.
“This will be achieved by eliminating all forms of violent acts and entrenched social norms and making opportunities easily accessible for every child,” she said.
Opportunities must be equal for every child, irrespective of the individual differences, to ensure his or her growth and well-being, Ms Ankrah said.
