West African Network For Protection Of Children Introduces Signage

The West Africa Network for the Protection of Children on the Move (WAN), on Thursday, 21st March, introduced a Signage which will help or enable a child from one country who finds himself or herself in danger in another country to know where to turn to for help.

The Vision of WAN is to render the West African Space safe for children and youth on the Move.

It strives to effectively and permanently connect national protection systems of ECOWAS members States and Mauritania to better identify, protect, reintegrate and follow up vulnerable children moving between and within countries in the sub-region.

According to Madam Vida Asomaning Amoako, the Coordinator for WAN - Ghana, in the last 10 years, 9,000 children and youth on the move who finds themselves in difficulties as a result of their travels benefited from services of protection provided by about 500 communicating and collaborating States and Non States members of the West African Network.

She stated that, the Signage which has been introduced all over in West Africa for the protection of children and youth on the Move will be of good help to children who have been abused sexually, orphans or lost as well as abandoned children, children living on the street, victims of early and forced marriages, and many others.

She said this at a stakeholder meeting held at the International Organization of Migrants (IOM) office.

"This approval marked an important milestone in child protection in West Africa. For the first time, West Africa will have a unified Signage to depict child protection points in the region, a major step towards it vision of rendering the West African Space for children and Youth," she intimated.

WAN comprises of ECOWAS, Government agencies, Civil society Organizations, Community based organization in all ECOWAS member states and Mauritania, active in the region is a transnational mechanism for the protection and care of Vulnerable children and youth on the Move in the West African Space.