Call for budgetary support against girl-child abuse

The Jasikan Municipal Assembly has affirmed its commitment to maintaining the Plan International Ghana project aimed at eliminating teenage pregnancies and keeping young girls in school.

The project also seeks to empower young females on their rights and responsibilities to assist them advance their development. 

The project called “Be Smart, Learn and Stay Protected” was introduced to the Jasikan municipality after the COVID-19 pandemic from February 2021 to January 2023 when school dropout rates due to pregnancies were on the ascendancy, as well as sexual and gender-based violence among needy girls and young women.

Starting the two-year project in 10 communities, there was no denying that the lots of the young girls had been improved greatly within the Jasikan Municipality, thus enabling Plan International to proceed on another two-year project which will end in January 2025. 

The 10 communities are Bodada, Okadjakrom, Atonkor and Atwereboana. The rest are Akaa, Nsuta, Tetema, Baika, New Ayoma and Kute.

The project was funded by Beiersdorf through the German National Office in collaboration with Plan International. 

Stakeholder forum

The Jasikan Municipal Assembly, realising the usefulness of the project, summoned a stakeholders forum in Jasikan in the Oti Region to adopt the project which was due to end in January next year.

The stakeholders forum was attended by participants including the social services and development planning subcommittee of the Jasikan Municipal Assembly. The rest are child protection agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare, the Ghana Education Service, the Ghana Health Service, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the National Commission for Civic Education, assembly members and traditional authorities who work in the area of child protection. This will also enable the agencies to tackle child abuse cases whenever they occur. 

The Jasikan Municipal Coordinating Director, James Awapoayi, explaining the importance of the project said the assembly needed to maintain it and sustain it by including child protection issues in their budgetary estimates since external funds would cease in January next year. 

Income generation

The Manager in charge of the Southern Programme Influencing and Impact Area, Mathias Gangana, noted that the project was ongoing in two regions in its southern division of the country, namely Oti and Eastern and has given opportunities to out-of-school young women to embark on income-generating activities that have taken them out of vulnerable situations. 

While this has assisted in creating an atmosphere of satisfaction, Mr Gangana said the communities have shown appreciation for the relevance of savings and now have easy access to finance to improve their quality of life and that of their families and communities.