Children need parental care

Madam Patience Debrah, of the Office of the National Programme for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC), on Wednesday said children should be prevented from work that could threaten their health, education or development.

She said children need parental love and must not be exposed to physical, chemical and moral hazards.

Madam Debrah was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News agency (GNA) at Akim Oda in the Birim Central Municipality on the topic "Child Labour in Cocoa".

She said the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, supports NPELCLC in its campaigns of sensitisation parents through workshops and seminars, with the view of educating them on child labour issues.

Madam Debrah noted that children were vulnerable and therefore, needed special care and attention.

"This vulnerability is as a result of the fact that they do have enough information of society, people and how they behave, as well as how the society functions".

Madam Debrah said "The UN Declaration on Human Rights proclaims that children require special care and assistance."

She cited the Constitution of Ghana, the Children's Act and Criminal Code that sought to give children the much needed care and protection because children could be manipulated, exploited and abused.

Madam Debrah wondered whether all Children in Ghana are being given the necessary care and attention, despite the laws, which seeks to protect them.

The Officer pointed out that, all the laws, including the Children's Act recognized that; "the family is the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well being of all its members".

According to her, the child should be fully prepared to live an independent adult life in society and brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations.

Madam Debrah noted that the care and protection of the child was necessary to ensure the full and harmonious development of his or her physical, intellectual, social and emotional personality.