The Ashanti Region has achieved a significant milestone in the fight against child marriage, with no reported cases in 2024.
This progress is attributed to the region’s concerted efforts to eliminate the practice through symposiums and awareness campaigns.
Madam Ama Nyantah Boateng, the Ashanti Regional Head for the Department of Gender, told Oyerepa News that the absence of reported cases does not necessarily mean that child marriage is no longer a problem in the region.
“Before I assumed office about a year ago there were some issues of Child Marriage in the Ashanti Region but this year we’ve not recorded or received any issue of child marriage. However, that doesn’t mean the menace does not go on. But we are heavily campaigning against the menace and I can say that so far in Ashanti, the dissemination of the information has gone very far”.
“Many people still find it challenging to report child marriage-related issues due to deep-rooted cultural and social norms,” she declared.
To address this challenge, the Department of Gender is intensifying its campaign against child marriage, focusing on educating the public about the dangers of the practice, via The Child Marriage Information Portal which was created in 2021.
The portal intends to give accurate information and data about child marriage issues to help the media and general public fight against regional child marriage, thereby eliminating it by 2030.
“The Portal has to deal with information on issues with Child Marriage. So we expect the public, the NGOs, and CSOs who work around issues of child marriage to be able to get information for us so that we put it in the portal for them to go there and get information, data and all activities, resources materials that have to do with child marriage.” Madam Safia Tamimum, Head of the Child Marriage Unit, Ministry Of Gender Children and Social Protection stated at a Media Sensitized on Child Marriage Information Portal in Kumasi.
Madam Boateng urged individuals to report any child marriage-related issues, stressing that the practice is against Ghanaian law.
Madam Boateng expressed optimism that with continued efforts, child marriage can be reduced significantly by 2030.
Ghana has made significant progress in reducing child marriage, but there is still work to be done. According to UNICEF, 1 in 5 girls aged 20-24 years are married before the age of 18 in Ghana.
The Ministry Of Gender Children and Social Protection is working with partners to develop methods of intervention to eliminate the prevalence of child marriage by 20230.
Source: Oyerepafmonline.com /Joseph Marfo
