Engagement With Religious Leaders On Child Protection

June 15, 2022 3:16 pm

In efforts of achieving a fruitful collaboration with religious bodies, The Department of Children (under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender Children & Social Protection – MoGCSP) with support from UNICEF Ghana, is holding a Two-day Consultative Workshop with Religious Leaders on Child Protection issues in Ghana.
The meeting, which started today, Tuesday 7th June will end on Wednesday 8th June 2022 in Accra.
The objectives of the two-day engagement meeting are to:

1. Strengthen religious leaders’ capacity to prevent and respond to violence abuse and exploitation and protect children affected by violence.
2. Deepen the understanding of children’s rights through highlighting links between the Convention on the Rights of the Child and religious (Christian and Muslim) views on how to treat children and equip them to contribute to addressing the issue of misinterpretation and harmful application of religious text, values and principles related to children.
3. Engage with FBOs on how they can use their platforms to promote child protection and enlist more Religious and Traditional Leaders as GACA champions.
4. Advocate for concrete strategies in their communities to tackle systemic issues that leave children vulnerable for exploitation such as inequality, discrimination, disparities, and injustice
5. Explore and entry points for establishing strategic partnerships with the religious community
6. Advocate the need to have a child protection code for their various denomination
7. Seek inputs and validate draft results framework to inform the respective action plans on how they will integrate CP issues in their activities.
   In a Speech read on her behalf, the Chief Director for MoGCSP, Dr. Afisah Zakariah noted that the role of religious leaders in the promotion and protection of children’s rights cannot be overemphasized as they are key agents in effecting Social change.
   Commending religious leaders on their efforts and commitments, the Chief Director was optimistic that religious bodies, at the end of the engagement, would be able to contribute further to the reduction of violence, abuse and exploitation of children, and to advocate for the need to have a child protection code.
   MOGCSP through the Department of Children seeks to leverage on the trust the religious leaders enjoy among their communities to play a role in sensitization and the awareness creation because religious bodies can provide rich opportunities for confronting discrimination and promoting equal outcomes for girls and boys.
   Key participants of the meeting are the Religious Leaders, Children’s Ministries coordinators, and Muslim Leaders.
   The Methodist Church Ghana SEVEN DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH National Chief Imam Of Ghana Presbyterian Church of Ghana Anglican Church of Ghana Assemblies of God Ghana St. James Catholic Church, Osu- Accra, Ghana International Central Gospel Church THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST Christ Apostolic Church International (CACI) New Kweiman branch Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission Ghana Headquarters.
8. Source: MoGCSP