Ghana’s commitment to addressing child labour is aligned with the deadline for the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals Target 8.7, Mr. Kizito Ballans, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations has stated.

This commitment is strengthened by the number of regulations the country has passed, including the Children’s Act of 1998 (Act 560), Ghana National Social Protection Policy, Ghana School Feeding Programme and the National Plan of Action (NPA I and II), all aimed at eradicating child labour.

Mr. Ballans who was speaking on behalf of the Minister for Employment and Labour relations, Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, at a high-level engagement seminar on the Ghana Accelerated Action Plan Against Child Labour on Tuesday, 24^th October at Labadi Beach Hotel.

He mentioned that, “We should not take pride in merely having good regulations and policies but how well these policies are implemented they the impact have on children should be our prime objective.”

He highlighted the need for financial, logistical and technical support, suggesting the establishment of a multi-stakeholder financing strategy with clear implementation and accountability mechanisms.

The Acting Head of the Child Labour Unit, Madam Esther Ofori Agyeman, shared insights into child labour interventions funded by donors and industry partners in collaboration with government institutions.

She emphasized the need for a Child Labour Fund and a multi-stakeholder financing mechanism to pool resources to implement the action plan.

Madam Agyeman, stated that partners’ commitment to combating child labour in the medium term was essential to sustain the gains made under the National Plan of Action Two (NPA 2) and to significantly improve upon past efforts.

She emphasized the significance of NPA as the overarching strategic document and called for the collective buy-in of all stakeholders to ensure its successful implementation. Implementing these interventions, she added, would have a national-level impact on the fight against child labour.