Day: June 29, 2024

Bad cocoa harvests in West Africa and higher costs of living and production, are exacerbating farmer vulnerabilities in the fight against child labour in the sector, a 2023 Report by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) has found.

The Report, which was shared with the Ghana News Agency, said poverty and lack of access to basic social services were among the root causes of child labour.

‘Negative shocks to farmer income, such as those caused by crop failure, a fall in price, or severe weather can put a strain on farming families, who with limited resources or alternative sources of labour, may call on their children to fill the gap.

‘A lack of social safety nets and access to social services makes cocoa farming families even more vulnerable,’ it said.

The ICI said the development in the cocoa sector had made it ‘more critical’ to provide support to cocoa farming families.

The ICI’s 2023 Annual Report highlights the Organisation’s work to tackle child labour and forced labour in the cocoa sector.

The
ICI’s activities throughout the year supported three strategic objectives – responsible cocoa supply chains, a supportive enabling environment and coordinated approaches.

The ICI said by the end of 2023, it covered over 320,000 households through Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) – systems designed to identify, address and prevent child labour.

The Report said 26 per cent of children in the system were found to be engaging in child labour, out of which 77 per cent of them received support.

The ICI said when well implemented, those systems could be highly effective with 41 per cent of supported children stopping hazardous work.

The Report said additional initiatives such as income-generating activities, community service groups, Village Savings and Loans Associations, or cash transfers, could help farmers to establish alternative sources of income to enhance their resilience.

Mr Matthias Lange, Executive Director, ICI, said challenges in the sector highlighted the need to re-double e
fforts to support cocoa farming families.

‘It is great to see significant scale up by our members across industry and civil society in West Africa. This is a significant achievement, and one on which we are happy to build, as

we continue to collectively strengthen the effectiveness and improve the impact of these systems and advance the way child labour and forced labour are tackled in the cocoa sector,’ he said.

‘While no single system (nor one actor alone) can end child labour, CLMRS have demonstrated their effectiveness. Along with complementary approaches, and an enabling environment, they play an important role in tackling the issue,’ Mr Lange added.

The ICI said responsible supply chains were only a part of the solution to combatting child labour in the cocoa sector.

The Organisation said the creation of an enabling environment of policies, standards, and regulation that helped tackle child labour and forced labour were key to combatting the phenomenon.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) concept, spearheaded by World Vision Ghana, a Child Rights Organisation is gradually restoring degraded landscapes, fighting climate change and empowering communities in the Savannah Ecological Zone.

Currently, under the Landscapes and Environmental Agility across the Nation (LEAN) project, funded by the European Union, a total of 421 hectares of degraded lands and forest reserves across 50 communities in the Savannah Ecological Zone are gradually being restored.

The restored lands are spread across 25 communities each of the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region and West Gonja District in the Savannah Region.

These came to light when the beneficiary communities, organised by World Vision Ghana, visited some of the project sites where shrubs, trees and vegetative cover have regenerated naturally and regreened the environment.

The communities further visited the Yameriga community, where World Vision Ghana begun the FMNR approach in 2009 and h
ad restored several hectares of land and is considered as a learning centre for other communities who want to venture into land restoration through natural regeneration.

The visit was to afford the beneficiary communities comprising lead farmers and fire volunteers to learn from each other as well as the Yameriga community and work to improve their operations to restore degraded lands to fight climate change and improve the livelihoods of vulnerable communities.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the visit, Mr Joseph Talata Abugri, the EU LEAN Project Officer in charge of Kassena-Nankana West District, World Vision Ghana, noted that the project was a four-year initiative started in 2021 and was at the end of its life span.

The project aimed to support national and local efforts to conserve biodiversity, improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers, build resilience against climate change and reduce emissions from land-use changes across Ghana’s high forest reserves, Savannah and transition
zones.

The Project Officer explained that the threats of climate change were real and as such through project, the communities had been empowered to desist from activities such as bush burning, deforestation among others that deepened the phenomenon and embraced land and natural resources protection.

‘We have also introduced alternative livelihood interventions such as beekeeping, small ruminants rearing, training of women on savings for transformation, soap making and among others to provide economic independence for the women to be able to cater for their children and families,’ he said.

He urged the communities to work with the various relevant institutions such as the Forestry Commission, Ghana National Fire Service, department of agriculture, the District Assemblies to sustain the project to ensure maximum benefits.

Ms Fatima Boamani, a lead farmer under the EU LEAN project at the Achumbunyo community in the West Gonja District, noted that apart from the project helping to restore the degraded lands
and improve agriculture productivity, economic trees such shea, dawadawa among others had been protected and was providing economic opportunities for the women.

Ms Faustina Banakwoyem, Batiu community in the Kassena-Nankana West District, lauded World Vision Ghana and its partners for the initiative and noted that unlike before where residents used to cut down trees and burn vegetative covers to engage in agriculture activities, the project had empowered communities to desist from bushfires and other environmental degradation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) Basic School has committed to creating awareness in the fight against illicit drug use in the Volta Region.

The Basic School has inaugurated a Destiny Club, which would collaborate with the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) in the Region to promote public awareness on the dangers of substance abuse.

Mr Seth Korgah, Headmaster of the School made known the initiative at an event in Ho to mark the World Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

He said the Region and its capital witnessed increasing drug use among the youth and that the school sought to support efforts at addressing the situation.

‘We have observed in our vicinity that there are a lot of guys into drugs. The internet is awash with all kinds of documentaries, and we are getting to know that even children as young as in KG are taking substances that make them addicted. So, we decided that since our children are part of the community, they are seeing those things, and they are vulnera
ble to drug abuse. So, we decided to do something about it from.’

Mr Korgah said the Destiny Club would pursue advocacy and education with the support of the NACOC, and also promote the formation of similar clubs in other schools.

‘Our strategy is that students themselves should talk about it. They should hear people speak about it, they should dramatise it, they should debate it and maybe we would be able to save some of them in future.

‘The Destiny Club is going to be a club in UHAS Basic, and we wish that it is in all schools around the country. They are going to form panels and discuss issues about drug abuse. They will go to other schools and churches and educate people about the dangers of drug abuse,’ he said.

This year’s World Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is on theme ‘Empowering the Youth Against Drug Abuse,’ and celebration begun with a morning float in Ho by children of the basic school to draw public attention to the dangers of illicit drug use.

They distributed tracts and he
ld up placard messages on the subject.

A public forum was held in the Cedi Auditorium of the University, which had a panel of top academics and stakeholders.

Commander Worlanyo Fianu, Regional Commander of the NACOG who delivered the keynote address, highlighted the fact that cannabis use was highest among youth in the Region due to favourable climate that made the enclave a cultivation hub.

He spent time elaborating the challenges with illicit drugs and spoke of the effects on the mental health and general wellbeing of the individual.

The Regional Commander said stakeholders should consider enhancing focus and interventions towards arresting the challenge, and commended the initiative by the basic

school, adding that community leaders and parents should provide the needed support for the efforts.

He said schools should implement comprehensive drug education programs and teach decision making skills to enhance youth resilience.

Commander Fianu Called for increased access to mental health services as we
ll as counselling and guidance for the youth.

School children got to view documentaries and other educative materials that broadened their appreciation of the illicit drug menace, and they expressed keenness on engaging stakeholders during the panel discussion.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Atta Yaw Arhin, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Technical Specialist at World Vision Ghana, has called for the repositioning of WASH as the key driver of development.

He said none of the Strategic Development Goals (SDGs) could be achieved without water, good sanitation and hygiene.

He was speaking to selected members of the WASH Sector, Ghana WatSan Journalists’ Network (GWJN) and Media Coalition Against Open Defection (M-CODe) from across the country.

It was during a trainer of trainees capacity building sponsored by World Vision Ghana.

Mr Arhin said no single organisation, including health, education and agriculture, could do without all of the sector ingredients, thus, the need for partnership.

He said there should be deliberate effort to protect water bodies as well as prevent water loss while delivering water to both rural and urban areas.

He mentioned areas such as illegal connection, poor collection of water bills, limited investments and others as ways 50 percent of water collected is l
ost.

With Sanitation, he advised that a conscious approach be adopted to maintain good sanitation and was quick to add that a Sanitation Authority was needed to implement policies in that area under the Sanitation Ministry.

We need a dedicated Authority for the WASH Sector, he said, adding that it was time the National Planning Development Commission’s recommendation to priotise WASH because it had ranked it of having a multiplying effects, be followed.

The WASH Specialist said provision of potable water and good sanitation would limit diseases and government would spend less amount of money in treating water or sanitation related sicknesses.

He encouraged media practitioners to as a matter of urgency report more on WASH for global and national agenda, by holding duty bearers to task.

Mr Francis Ameyibor, National Coordinator for M-Code, said the institution was poised to help end open defecation through constant reportage and advocacy.

Source: Ghana News Agency