National Symposium on World Social Work Day

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), has held a National Symposium to commemorate the 2024 World Social Work Day on Tuesday in Accra.

The theme for the event was, “Professionalisation of Social Work Practice: A Shared Future for Ghana's Transformative Change." It sought to raise awareness about the significance of professionalism of social work practice and its relevance to social development.

It was also to facilitate knowledge-sharing and the exchange of best practices among the social services workforce as well as advocate for increased support and investment in the professional development of social workers to enhance their effectiveness.

The Director for the Department of Social Welfare, Dr Comfort Asare, expressed her gratitude to UNICEF Ghana and USAID in Ghana for supporting the development of Social Work Profession Bill to regulate social work practice and make it a profession which aligns with international standards.

"This will stop the recruitment of people with no training in the social work practice," she added.

Dr Comfort Asare thanked the development partners and all the social workers for their sense of duty and devotion in making the world a better place for humanity especially children and the vulnerable.

The Head of Department of Social Work, University of Ghana, Dr. Augustina Naami indicated that professionalism in social work was to provide officers with education, training, licensure, ethical guidelines and other professional development. She called on the government and stakeholders to provide the necessary resources and logistical needs to ensure that social workers perform their duties effectively.

On her part, the Chief of Child Protection UNICEF Ghana, Madam Lucia Soleti in a solidarity message charged all the officers to utilize every opportunity available to advocate and talk about professionalism of social work in Ghana because, she believes it would result in a high-quality of social services that meet the needs of the hard-to-reach individuals, families, and communities.

She gave assurance of the organization’s continuous support to the professionalism of social work practice.

The World Social Work Day is an annual event celebrated globally to recognize the contributions of social workers and highlight the importance of their profession in the promotion of social justice, human rights and well-being.

This year's symposium was hosted with support from UNICEF Ghana and USAID Ghana.