By: Momodou L Jaiteh, CEO Kaba Communications
The Accra-based organization, ProHumane Afrique International and partners recently step up the on-going fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child marriage within West Africa.
To intensify efforts against the menace, the organization and its partners held a three-day capacity building workshop under the theme – “ CSO networks capacity building workshop on advocacy to end GBV and Child Marriage,” at Miklin Hotel in Ghana.
The international hybrid conference which was jointly organised by ProHumane and the Nigeria-based Development Research and Project Centre with funding by Ford Foundation’s West Africa Office.
The maiden conference brought together participants from Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Senegal and Liberia. The capacity building conference was held among other things to; increase knowledgeawareness and understanding of new and emerging factors putting girls and women at risk of Gender Based Violence and child marriage.
The conference as part of its objectives tries to address new and emerging opportunities to end these practices, identify advocacy issues to end child marriage and strengthen the capacity and efficacy of CSOs and CSO networks to design and conduct evidence informed advocacy on how to accelerate action to end GBV and Child Marriage.
This initiative is being implemented by ProHumane Afrique International, Ghana and the development Research and Projects Center (dRPC), Nigeria and is funded through the kind support of the Ford Foundation West Africa Office through its BUILD project.
During the opening ceremony at Miklin Hotel Accra, Ghana, government officials, academia, CSO networks, implementing partners as well as non-government actors, shared experiences on issues of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and proposed how these global issues can be addressed. Present at the opening ceremony, Ghana’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection’s special representative, The Executive Director of ProHumane Afrique International Madam Baptista S. H. Gebu, Dr. Michael Turnwait of dRPC Nigeria and Ford Foundation, UNFPA Technical Specialist on Gender and many others.
Speakers included: Mrs. Dorcas Coker–Appiah of NETRIGHT, Prof Rev. Yaa Adobea Owusu, Associate Professor of the University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), Pr. Adjaratou Wakha Aidara Ndiaye of Partners West Africa – Senegal, Mr. Fallu Sowe, of Network against Gender Based Violence Gambia, Madam Amelia M. Cooper – Aiding Disadvantaged and Traumatized Women and Girls, Liberia amongst others took turns to address the delegates of the conference.
It was revealed that globally, 12 million girls marry before age 18 each year – which is almost one every 2 seconds. “More than 150 million girls by 2030 will be married before age 18 if we don’t take action to stop child marriage now, “ one of the speakers warned.
“Child marriage violates girls’ rights to health, education and opportunity. Ending child marriage and guaranteeing girls’ rights means a fairer, more secure and prosperous future for all.”
Madam Baptista S. Gebu, the Executive Director of ProHumane Afrique International in her welcoming address indicated that supporting girls was always a great thing to do, “because if girls win, the whole society win.”
Representing Dr. Judith – Ann Walker, the Executive Director of development Research Project Centre, Nigeria; Dr Michael Turnwait of dRPC a demographer with expertise on Gender Based Violence indicated that the dRPC and ProHumane Afrique International share a common mission to empower African women’s CSOs and CSO networks, enabling them to gain advocacy skills and competences to be able to conduct evidence-based advocacy to end gender based violence in West African states.
“The CSOs and CSO networks gathered have been identified from a rigorous process as the highest performing and most committed collectives in the sub-region working to end gender-based violence in general and child marriage in particular.”
Madam Sarah Adwoa Safo, the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in an address read on her behalf, said gender-based violence was a violation of fundamental human rights that denied the victim’s human dignity and hampered national development. “The unequal power relations among men and women were one of the root causes of gender-based violence faced by the country and the continent as a whole,”she highlighted.
She said her Ministry had developed several policies, laws, and strategies to protect women and girls to enable them to fully contribute their quota to national development.
There was an advocacy visit conducted on the third day to 50th year old OIC Ghana one of the first and oldest TVET center in Ghana where the students of the center were engaged on the subject matter and educated. The authorities thanked the delegates and pledge commitment to supporting the center create more awareness to its students through the Guidance and Counseling unit of the center.