Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey receiving the declaration from the girls
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to advance gender equality and child rights.
Dr. Lartey stated this when she formally received the Dakar Girls’ Summit Declaration on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama during the national commemoration of World Children’s Day in Accra.
She stressed that the Declaration aligns with Ghana’s national priorities, which include investments in girls’ education, protection from violence and harmful practices, access to health and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) services, digital inclusion, and girls’ economic empowerment.
Dr. Lartey said, “The Dakar Declaration is not just a document, it is a moral call. Ghana is fully committed to ensuring that every girl can learn, lead, and thrive without fear, without limitation, and without discrimination.”
She emphasised that the voices of children and adolescents will continue to shape Ghana’s policy direction, noting that the country remains steadfast in upholding its legacy as the first nation to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The Declaration was developed at the Dakar Girls’ Summit through consultations across 24 West and Central African countries, which reflects the priorities and demands of adolescent girls across the region.
Ghana was represented at the Declaration by a multi-sectoral delegation which includes six adolescents, the Director of Gender, a Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Gender and Children’s Committee, academia, UNICEF’s Adolescent and Gender Lead and Education Officer.
The event also featured the launch of “Let Them Shine,” a new child rights advocacy song produced in collaboration with multi-award-winning Ghanaian artiste Kuami Eugene, which reinforces the national call to safeguard and promote the rights of every child.
By Florence Asamoah Adom