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The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has developed a comprehensive action plan to curb streetism in the country.

The project dubbed "Operation Get Off The Street For A Better Life" is intended to address the challenges of streetism and roll out preventive measures to curb the societal menace.

Under the project, the Ministry will "identify and deliver the core set of basic services to secure the reintegration of street children. Strengthen policies that address the causes of streetism, develop mechanisms for coordinating activities of organisations involved in delivering services to street children and conduct Advocacy activities to lobby support in addressing the phenomenon".

In a statement by the Gender Minister Otiko Afisah Djaba during a press conference in Accra on Thursday, Aug 3; the Ministry in addressing the problem will link the "extremely poor to pro-poor interventions like the LEAP, the LEAP 1000 and the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative of the Akufo-Addo government. For those who provide enough information, we will make efforts to reunite them with their families and monitor and support their reintegration process".

Read full statement below:

STATEMENT DELIVERED BY HON. OTIKO AFISAH DJABA TO THE PRESS ON THE ‘OPERATION GET OFF THE STREET NOW, FOR A BETTER LIFE’ PROGRAMME ON 3RD AUGUST, 2017 AT THE MINISTRY PREMISES

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media,
Directors of the Ministry,
Representatives of development partners,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning. Thank you for coming for this press conference. Today we at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, want to share with you our plans for addressing the sorry situation of children, persons with disability, young girls and boys on our streets in Ghana.

The current prevalence of “street children” in the country is extremely worrying. This is especially so because as per the Children’s Act 560, 1998, every child of school going age should be in school and stay in school, in particular during school days and times. The number of children seen washing wind screens, begging, selling, sleeping and or loitering on our streets, around traffic lights and under bridges has escalated over the years and has resulted in, abuse, accidents, deaths, littering and overcrowding on the streets of major cities in the country.

The increasing numbers of children and young is an indication of our weakened extended family values and or governance systems which are increasingly unable to protect and provide for children and care for these very vulnerable people.

As a Ministry, we are focusing on this issue today because of the need to stop this harmful and hazardous practice that infringes on the Right of the Child to Education, to play and to be protected from physical, mental and psychological abuse.

The dignity and full potential of any child, young person and persons with disability is under threat for as long as they continue to live and operate on our streets.

The meaningful contributions and ambitions of these sons and daughters of our motherland are lost in the pursuit of “small change”, “nook fio ne wobaye”. No amount of money made on the street is worth the education lost. Some of the causes of this menace are poverty, inadequate family incomes, peer pressure, inadequate parental control, indiscipline, child labour, unscrupulous contractors, urban migration, divorce and children running away from doing house chores.

Unfortunately, the need to generate or increase incomes from streetism is endangering the lives of these very vulnerable people. Some turn to pickpocketing, armed robbery, criminal gangs, teenage pregnancy and prostitution to survive. The street is no place for any child, young person or person with disability. Home is the safest place for the development of the child.
Children on the streets can be grouped into three categories, Children off the street, Children on the street, and Children in the street.

Children off the street are those who are engaged in economic activities but might go home at the end of the day and contribute their earnings to their family sustenance. They may be attending school and retain a sense of belonging to a family. As a result of the economic fragility of the family, it is highly likely that these children will eventually opt for a permanent life on the streets.

Children on the street are children who have cut off all ties with their biological families and are completely on their own. These children include orphans, runaways, refugees, and those rendered homeless perhaps because of the death or rejection by parents as well the unavailability of an extended family.

Children in the street are the high risk group. These are generally urban or city children who were born in the street because of extreme poverty and deprivation or inadequate care and supervision by parents who are for the most part absent due to work or negligence. These are at a high risk of becoming involved in street-life. It is those from this group, having little or no education and family training, who mostly fall into negative and anti-social activities.

The Social Welfare Department under the Ministry conducted a census on street children in the Greater Accra Region in 2011. They discovered that about 60,495 children live and work on the street. In this number, they are 66% migrant children and 18% urban dwellers among other smaller groups.
There was a particular concentration of street children in the Accra Metropolis with approximately 50,000 children. Other areas of the region had significantly less children. 1757 children were found in the Ga East Municipal district.
939 in Ga West Municipal district - Amasaman, 5,768 in Ashaiman, Nungua and Teshie, 2,031, Dangme West- Shai Osudoku, Prampram, Ningo.

Using these findings as a benchmark, the Social Welfare Department projected that there would be at least 80,000 children on Greater Accra streets by the end of 2016.

Based on these findings and on the recommendations made in the Mapping and Analysis of the Child Protection System Report on strengthening Child and Family Welfare System, the Ministry has developed a comprehensive action plan to reduce streetism; dubbed OPERATION GET OFF THE STREET FOR A BETTER LIFE.

The project is intended to address streetism and outlines clear Onset, Challenges and Prevention strategies to manage this severe societal problem which is a serious threat to national security and development.

Under the project we will:

• Identify and deliver the core set of basic services to secure the reintegration of street children
• Strengthen policies that address the causes of streetism
• Develop mechanisms for coordinating activities of organisations involved in delivering services to street children and
• Conduct Advocacy activities to lobby support in addressing the phenomenon

We intend to embark on Mapping: field work to collect data on street children in identified areas where streetism is a major concern this August. Once identified, the children of school-going age will be sent back to school and we will provide support for them and their families.

For the young adults, especially for young women, we will provide them with skills and entrepreneurship training to boost their income generating capacity and enable them support themselves.

We will link the extremely poor to pro-poor interventions like the LEAP, the LEAP 1000 and the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative of the Akufo-Addo government. For those who provide enough information, we will make efforts to reunite them with their families and monitor and support their reintegration process.

Since this project was founded on the recommendations of the Child and Family Welfare report and Policy, we will, through this programme, promote the other equally important objectives of the policy to enhance and strengthen family care systems and sensitize communities on the laws protecting the rights of children and the benefits of family based care.

We also hope to rescue victims of trafficking and exploitation through the programme and we will support victims of abuse and provide them with psychological care.

To ensure effective work and the coordination of efforts of all implementing partners, a unit will be established to collate data and information from the field and roll out interventions to address the issues encountered on the field. The unit will also serve as a point of contact for the public to send information and report on victims of abuse.

Ladies and Gentlemen, This program will be implemented by the Children’s Department in collaboration with Social Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Local Government, faith based organisations, NGO’s, CSO’s, traditional rulers and other Stakeholders. It will be implemented on three levels, under Short, Medium and long term strategies.

In the Short term, we intend to:

• Conduct a rapid general assessment of the phenomenon. This will be a fully participatory process and we will solicit input from other MMDAs and organisations as well as community, traditional and religious leaders.
• We will embark on aggressive and effective awareness grassroots based and media programs to sensitize the general public on the dangers and extent of the damage caused to the victims, their families and Ghana as a whole.
• Organise the acquisition of birth certificates.
• Encourage all persons under 18 years and above to take advantage of the FCUBE that has been available since 1992 and FREE SHS initiative starting from this September.
• Education of rights of children. Awareness of the fact that it is a criminal offence in Ghana for begging in public places and abusing children’s rights. Indeed the fine is GHC500.00 and or 1 year imprisonment.
• There is also the need to identify shelter and screening centres so we can care for the children after they are rescued till their reintegration process is complete.

• Capacity building of counsellors, social workers and caregivers at the various homes and centres to provide the specialized care these children need.
• After these are done, we will proceed on the streets to rescue the children, house them in the shelter homes and conduct screening and assessment.
• When we are able to identify their families, we will hold discussions with the parents to ascertain their readiness and ability to care for the child.
• Then we train the parents to also enable them provide the specialized care their children will need.
• Children and persons with disability would be identified and either sent back to school or provided with skills training.

The Medium-term prevention strategies include;

• Tracing, reunification and integration of the identified children to family
• Enrolment of the children in school or in skills training programme
• Provide support to rescued children and their parents/guardians
• Development of follow-up mechanisms
• We will continue awareness creation and will collaborate with regulatory agencies, NGOs and CSOs to drive the various sensitization programmes
• Implementation of core services such as training in productive skills, formal and non- formal education and health care services and involve them in business ventures like Car Wash, etc.
• Implementation of Social Protection programs for vulnerable children including cash transfers to tackle childhood poverty and we will also collaborate with the National Health Insurance Authority to register the kids on the Scheme.

The long term strategies include:

• The Prosecution of parents/guardians and child traffickers.

• Strengthening of the legal and policy frameworks including coordination for child protection in all areas.
• Strengthening institutional structures that provide child protection services and welfare.
• Strengthening inter-sectoral coordination in child protection issues (police, probation, prison, judiciary and the Children’s Department) education, health and social system.
• Enforcement of the provisions of the child protection system at all levels (community and household level).
• Provision of child-friendly information, education and communication materials on diverse child abuse and exploitation issue and
• Promotion of community-based economic empowerment and social protection programs.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, these are our plans under OPERATION GET OFF THE STREET NOW, FOR A BETTER LIFE programme to eradicate streetism. We call on all PARTNERS to join and share ideas with us as we begin processes for the implementation of the programme.
The media will remain a critical part of the awareness creation of the programme and of getting our vulnerable loved children, young people and persons with disability off our streets for a better life.

A project of this scale requires massive funding support and we are counting on the support of our development partners and the private sector to step up their support for this programme to ensure that our streets are cleared, our children are safe and healthy and our families are strong again.

I thank you all for your participation, collaboration and partnership to GET OUR CHILDREN OFF THE STREETS NOW FOR A BETTER LIFE.

Thank you for your attention