It said that number is triple the global rate and girls are at the biggest disadvantage when it comes to getting an education.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rmL3zJduUQb8YpwuAkPL257ITaHvmNWV”]UNICEF said four impoverished African countries with a long history of instability have the highest rates of young people unable to read or write — Niger with 76 percent, Chad with 69 percent, South Sudan with 68 percent and the Central African Republic with 64 percent.

Henrietta Fore, new Executive Director of UNICEF, said “these numbers are a stark reminder of the tragic impact that the crises has on children’s education, their futures, and the stability and growth of their economies and societies.”

“An uneducated child who grows into an illiterate youth in a country ripped apart by conflict or destroyed by disasters may not have much of a chance.”

UNICEF said it used the last data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics to calculate illiteracy rates among young people aged 15 to 24 in 27 of the 32 countries where the children’s agency has launched humanitarian appeals. Comparable data was not available for the five other countries, it said.

UNICEF said that despite the critical importance of schooling for boys and girls, only 3.6 percent of humanitarian funding goes toward providing education for children living in emergencies, making it one of the least-funded sectors in humanitarian appeals.

Overall, the agency estimates it will spend approximately $1 billion a year on education programmes over the next four years.

UNICEF urged governments and other partners to provide young children with access to quality early education programs, offer illiterate young people the opportunity to learn to read and write, and increase investment in education, particularly for the most disadvantaged.

“For all children to fully reap the benefits of learning, it is key that they get the best quality education, as early as possible,” Fore said.

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Source: GNA

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In a new report, Unicef said there was widespread and blatant disregard for international laws designed to protect the most vulnerable.

Unicef director Manuel Fontaine said children were being targeted in their homes, schools and playgrounds.

He said such brutality “cannot be the new normal”.

The report highlights several conflict zones where it said children had suffered in the past year. It included:

• In the Central African Republic, children were killed, raped, abducted and recruited by armed groups in a dramatic increase in violence
• Islamist militants Boko Haram forced at least 135 children in north-east Nigeria and Cameroon to act as suicide bombers, almost five times the number in 2016
• Muslim Rohingya children in Myanmar suffered “shocking and widespread violence” as they were driven from their homes in Rakhine state
• In South Sudan, more than 19,000 children were recruited into armed forces and armed groups
• Fighting in Yemen has left at least 5,000 children dead or injured according to official figures, with the real number expected to be much higher
• In eastern Ukraine, 220,000 children are living under the constant threat from landmines and other unexploded devices left over from the war

“Children are being targeted and exposed to attacks and brutal violence in their homes, schools and playgrounds,” said Mr Fontaine, Unicef’s director of emergency programmes.

“As these attacks continue year after year, we cannot become numb. Such brutality cannot be the new normal.”

The report says that in some places, children abducted by extremist groups suffer further abuse when they are released to security forces.

Millions more children suffer from malnutrition, disease and trauma when access to food, water, sanitation and health is prevented by fighting, it says.

“Unicef calls on all parties to conflict to abide by their obligations under international law to immediately end violations against children and the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals,” the reports adds.

“Unicef also calls on states with influence over parties to conflict to use that influence to protect children.”

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“I know you can because you have demonstrated that before,” she said, adding that between 2011 and 2014, Upper West was the only region that reduced its open defecation rate by almost 22 percent, having moved from 71.10 per cent to 49.20 percent, the highest in the country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”vcUcrWLahwvnyLrq0Xb0KbqRhbmyD2r2″]Madam Halm threw the challenge during the launch of the Social Norms Campaign dubbed: “Open Defecation Free Campaign” in Wa on Tuesday.

She requested the region to put in place the necessary strategies and commit resources to achieve the target it had set itself for eliminating open defecation.

“It is indeed possible to attain the region-wide ODF with the requisite political will and resources”, she said.

She noted that with the launch of the campaign, complementing the ongoing behaviour change activities in the region, the region was on its way to making a turnaround in the sanitation statistics again, as all the districts have pledged to achieve their open defecation free targets.

The UNICEF WASH Officer congratulated government, especially the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, for taking steps to improve the sanitation situation in Ghana through the National Sanitation campaign.

“We as UNICEF support the endeavours of the government to ensure that no one is left behind in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) not just in Ghana, but around the world,” she said.

The objective of the ODF Ghana Campaign is to create awareness that open defecation is dangerous and affects the personal and collective well-being of Ghanaians.

It is also to help change individual behaviour on negative sanitation practices at the household level.

The campaign further seeks to create a social change, specifically a social norm of using latrines instead of using the bush, which will lead to ODF communities and districts.

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Source: GNA

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According to CDD-Ghana, the likes of Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, must be taken off government subventions and made to depend on their internally generated resources.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, Head of Research at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), Dr. Franklin Oduro, said “It doesn’t make sense to some of us that resource-endowed districts that can generate enough IGF [internally generated funds] like AMA, KMA, TMA, should receive the same kind of allocations as other districts that are not doing well.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”5AmKKCPzaVAEFPIx10Tq8W7pmcu7RAdW”]“We have consistently made recommendations in terms of devising new ways of resourcing districts that are not doing well. We have consistently argued for the need to take a second look at the district assembly common fund formula. One way that the ministry or all of us can begin to look at this is that, we take a second look at the formula so we can have targeted resource allocation to districts that are not really doing well. So that we can ensure that citizens living everywhere can have the same facility,” he added.

Dr. Oduro made the recommendation on the back of the ranking of the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) tabulated  by CDD-Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, and UNICEF Ghana.

The CDD research head explained that, the District League Table is to ensure equity across the country.

“It is to find a way to measure whether the services that the government of Ghana including the local government institutions are mandated to provide, we are achieving that progress or not,” he added.

TMA tops 2017 District League Table, Krachi East last

The 2017 district league table, which was released on Thursday, saw TMA clinging to the topmost position with Krachi East district in the Volta Region languishing at the bottom.

The Tema Metropolitan Assembly overtook the La Nkwantanang-Madina Municipality which topped the 2016 UNICEF District League Table.

The Tema Metropolitan Assembly had previously topped the table in 2015.

MMDAs can survive without common fund

The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, had in an earlier interview on the Citi Breakfast few weeks ago, stated that some of the MMDAs can survive without government support.

He noted that the funds they generate internally are even more than what they receive from government.

“In Tema, our IGF is always more than what we get from common fund. It has never been a case where common fund will be bigger than IGF. It is about four times what we receive from common fund,” he said.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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She is to address the Northern Regional House of Chiefs, today (Tuesday) to garner enough support from the traditional authorities to minimize the situation.

She is also expected to visit the Northern Regional Juvenile Correctional Centre.

Otiko Afisah Djaba at the Dakpema and Gulkpegu Naa palaces in Tamale called for a multifaceted approach to tackle the situation.

She emphasized the need for chiefs and the clergy to support government’s quest to end child marriage prevalent in the Northern Region.

She cited an increase in illiteracy rate, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, obstetric fistula, maternal and infant mortalities as some of the dangers associated with the menace.

“Government is doing its part by creating legislations. We expect our chiefs and religious leaders to complement government’s efforts by exposing the perpetrators of child marriage so as to safeguard the health and development of our young girls.”

“The purpose of my visit is also to explain certain government policies and initiatives to very important stakeholders including the chiefs, religious leaders as well as civil society organisations whose contributions matter a lot in the implementation of such policies and initiatives,” she explained.

The chief of Tamale, Naa Dakpema Dawuni Alhassan lauded the minister’s campaign and urged government to strictly enforce laws on child marriage.

“Child marriage is a new thing in Dagbon and people who indulge in the practice should be made to face the law.”

Naa Dakpema condemned the practice of children roaming on the streets of Tamale Township late at night.

Otiko Afisah Djaba at the Northern Regional Coordinating Council told the regional Minister, Salifu Sa-eed that plans were far advanced to implement the Ghana National Household Registry programme.

“I need the full cooperation and support of all MMDAs in your region to enable my ministry carryout this programme successfully. In every district, we expect the assemblies to provide our staff with office space for the period that they will be working in the districts to gather data and information.”

According to her, the Ghana National Household Registry is to establish a single national household register which will capture the data of all beneficiaries’ of social protection programs.

“The programme is funded by the World Bank through a US$9million facility negotiated by the government of Ghana.”

According to UNICEF, in Ghana, one out of every five girls is in marriage or in an informal union or cohabitation arrangement.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Mother-Baby Friendly Health Facility Initiative (MBHFI) is the ninth of 14 strategies being implemented by the Ghana Health Service under its National Newborn strategy and action plan, with support from UNICEF through the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

The project, which aims at ending all preventable maternal and newborn deaths towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030,  was piloted in four selected districts of the region namely Bolgatanga municipal, Bawku municipal, Bongo and Kassena-Nankana West districts.

According to Dr Priscilla Wobil, the program has brought significant improvement in the quality of health care and rendered mothers and their babies with a reduction in stillbirths and neonatal mortality.

Speaking in an interview with Citi News, at the first quarter review meeting held in Bolgatanga, Dr.Wobil  attributed the commitment of health personnel and their leaders at the districts and regional for the success chalked.

“From October to December, they [health personnel] worked on improving counseling, to ensure that every mother who comes to the facility to deliver will be counseled on breast feeding,  family planning, new born and maternal danger signs so that if there is any problem, they can come to the facility immediately for redress”.

She impressed on health personnel in the region to work hard at ensuring the region attains the objectives of the programme.

The National Director of family health department of the Ghana health service, Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye said even though Ghana received an award as the best maternal mortality improved country in Africa, there was the need to still improve the quality of health care at facilities.

He added that, the establishment of nutrition clinics, increase in data collection and distribution of iron foliage to menstruating women (aged 10 to 19) were among others strategies of addressing maternal and neonatal dangers.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has donated some devices and basic screening materials to support inclusive education in Ghana.

The $100,000 equipment was donated to enhance the various regional Assessment Centers across the country to help them function effectively.

The items include hearing aids, clutches, complete spectacles, wheelchairs, Snellen charts, walking sticks, table tennis boards, complete set of drums and basic screening materials.

Speaking at a symbolic handover ceremony at the Cape Coast School for the Deaf and Blind, the country representative of UNICEF, Susan Namondo Ngongi, said equipping the regional assessment centers would decongest the traffic on the national assessment center.

According to her, the national assessment is too far and inaccessible to many Ghanaians who have mild impairments.

This she said would help identify problems of the children in order to spare them the challenges they face.

She observed that, Ghana has made enough progress in increasing enrollment in the kindergarten and basic school level, but children with disability are disadvantaged in getting quality education.

“In the last decade, Ghana has made tremendous progress in getting more children into school especially at the kindergarten and basic education level with net enrollment reaching 91% at the primary level, yet children with disability still remained the most disadvantaged when it comes to getting good education. Children with disability are often denied education because the school buildings are not adaptable for them or the teacher doesn’t know how to make sure that they are included. So we wish to have teachers who are trained to identify the problems of the children” she emphasized.

For his part, the Mission Director of USAID, Andrew Karas, commended the ministry of education for implementing the Inclusive Education policy.

He said the USAID is committed to supporting the ministry to improve quality education for learners with special needs.

He encouraged learners with special needs to make good use of the available materials and learn hard to achieve their goals.

Between 2011 and 2012, the Ghana Education Service with support from UNICEF intensified the implementation process of Inclusive Education (IE) through three approaches namely; screening of school children, sensitization of stakeholders and training of teachers and managers.

This occurred in some 529 schools in 34 districts throughout the country. Currently, about 5,000 persons from 20 districts of seven regions in Ghana have been sensitized on Inclusive Education.

As part of the education strategic plan 2010-2020, over 3,500 teachers, education administrators and managers, have been trained for the implementation of  Inclusive Education plan, and about 800,000 pupils from primary one to three have been screened across the country.

The Director of Special Education at the Ghana Education Service, Anthony Boateng, on behalf of GES and the government of Ghana, expressed his profound gratitude to UNICEF and USAID for their continued support.

He called on all and sundry to place priority on Inclusive Education in order to help train children with disability for a better future.

“To parents, please bring the children with special needs to the education system. To teachers, administrators and managers, please accept them and let us work together to give them the education they require so that they play effective roles as full members of the society and develop their full potential which will enable them function as effective citizens of the country called Ghana” he appealed.

The Central Regional Minister, Kwamina Duncan, who graced the occasion, promised to do his best to assist the Cape Coast School for the Deaf and Blind as he happens to be a person with a disability who has risen to become the regional minister.

“Myself, I have a physical challenge, and so anything that has to do with people with challenges, it gets to my very core. Now that I represent the President in the region, I would have my eye here. I would also be that advocate that would continue in higher circles to ensure that the laws which regulate employment and public places must make access for persons with disability at any given opportunity, so we can be seen as a society that cares for its own.” he lamented.

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By: Akwasi Koranteng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The home-grown technology, developed with the backing of USAID, is to help education officials monitor the work of teachers which previously was done manually and did not create the right ambience for proper supervision.

Mrs. Rhoda Enchil, the Special Education Officer at UNICEF, said 1,367 tablets worth $400,000 have been procured for teachers and circuit supervisors to support the exercise being piloted in 729 schools in 10 districts.

The districts profiting from the tool include; Garu Tempane, Wa West, Krachi East, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA), Savelugu-Nanton, Kwahu Afram Plains North, Tolon, Ga East, Upper West Akim and Upper Denkyira West.

The new technology has improved attendance of teachers significantly in the beneficiary schools, Mrs Rhoda told reporters on Monday during a field visit to observe how inclusive education was being practiced by some schools in Cape Coast and Elmina in the Central Region.

Mr Isaac Opoku-Inkoom, the Special Education Coordinator of KEEA, said it had replaced the manual one which, hitherto, made school heads to contend with bulky paper materials and travelled long routes to submit reports to district offices.

Since its introduction, the teachers had recorded superior improvements in lesson notes preparation and delivery, and boosted contact hours.

Teachers’ punctuality and regularity to school have also soared significantly, he said, and their overall progression in performance is expected to reflect in the output of children during exams.

The District Education Office is able to monitor activities of teachers and school children with a computerised monitoring system fixed at the unit.

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Source: GNA

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Charlotte Nana Yaa Nikoi according to local media was last seen on March 21 as she walked on the Table Mountain on Human Rights Day.

News24 in South Africa reported that on Wednesday, an extensive ground and aerial search was conducted to locate her but without success.

A spokesperson for the South African Wilderness Search and Rescue team, Johan Marais is reported to have said that despite volunteers working with Skymed aerial rescue services to search the mountain, there was no sign of Yaa Nikoi.

“We are 95% sure that she is not in the area we went to search for her. Which means she came off the mountain and was either taken away, or went away from that area,” Marais said.

Yaa Nikoi’s colleagues at Unicef are worried about her disappearance, and have circulated a picture of her to help in the search.

Police have asked that anybody with information on her whereabouts contact them on 021 461 8067 or 072 560 2624.

At the time of her disappearance, Nikoi wore light-blue shorts, a cream, black and brown cardigan, a sleeveless black top, brown sneakers, and oval-shaped glasses.

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Source: Africafeeds.com

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According to the key national development partner, if the practice was not immediately brought under control, most basic schools would score zero percent in Basic Education Certificate Examination in three years time.

Mr. Charles Dzradosi, a Social Policy Specialist with UNICEF, raised the concern at the Brong-Ahafo Regional launch of the 2016 Ghana District Table (DLT) in Sunyani.

The DLT is a simple ranking tool showing national progress towards delivering development across the country’s 216 Districts.

As an independent tool for promoting social accountability, the table is produced on an annual basis by UNICEF Ghana, and the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).

Mr. Dzradosi recommended an urgent directive from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, to ensure that the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies take the lead to tackle the issues in a more proactive manner.

He explained that, the local government service recognized the DLT as an objective assessment initiative that had the potential to engender competition among MMDAs, stimulate district level performance and further deepen efforts at decentralization.

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Source: GNA

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