Policy dialogue on childcare centres held in Accra

Women in Informal Employment-Globalising and Organising (WIEGO) has organised a policy dialogue on childcare centres, in collaboration with the Trades Union Congress (TUC), in Accra.

The dialogue was aimed at addressing the struggles of informal workers, particularly women in urban markets.

WEIGO is a global network that seeks to improve the status of the working poor, especially women in the informal economy by increasing voice, visibility and validity to secure their livelihood.

Challenges

An Early Childhood care consultant, Dela Twum, said informal work had a significant impact on childcare.

She said market women, who are mostly parents, lacked sufficient time to care for their children due to long working hours.

Low earnings also limit resources for childcare, while the absence of employment relationships means worksite crèches were unavailable, Ms Twum added. 

Furthermore, she said migration for employment separates children from their parents, while public spaces such as streets and markets can also be hazardous for children and women workers.

Ms Twum said that WIEGO’s Informal Economy Monitoring Study (IEMS), revealed that 70 per cent of informal workers in urban markets were women, with 80 per cent of them in the informal sector employed in these markets.

However, only seven out of 42 markets in Accra have daycare centres, highlighting the need for improved childcare facilities, the consultant added.
 

Importance 

She further said that urban markets were vital to the country's economy, employing over 80 per cent of the informal sector.

They serve as employment hubs for women, critical links in the food supply chain and facilitators of social interaction and business relationships, while promoting cross-border trading with neighbouring countries.

It also stated that a good childcare centre allowed the informal worker to participate in governance and management and was also affordable.  

It recommended that childcare centres should include health components, nutritious food and also be at a convenient location.