The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur has expressed concern about the increasing rate of child marriage in the country. In an exclusive interview with informGhana in her office at the ministry on July 4, 2014, the minister said the national rate of child marriage is about 27%; this puts Ghana among the worst 20 or 30 countries globally in terms of child marriage. Meanwhile, the ministry is implementing measures to handle the issue in a cohesive way in order not to alienate communities involved. The minister also outlined some pertinent issues concerning the ministry and measures put in place to address them.

The interview was carried out by Kinna Likimani, the InformGhana Project Advisor. A transcription (not word for word) of the full interview is given below.

Kinna: How has the whole experience of being in charge of the Ministry being like?

Nana Oye: My schedule has been busy. The introduction of the social protection mandate required a restructuring of the ministry. We went from being about women to being about gender, that is, boys and girls. People with Disabilities (PWD) have also come into focus. The mandate requires new vehicles to carry them out, for example, a division for social protection and services is in the works. Kinna: Your ministry is the most crosscutting. How easy has it been to collaborate with the other ministries?

Nana Oye: It is a work-in-progress. There are working groups for social protection, Local Enterprises and skills Development Programme (LESDEP), the school feeding programme, Ghana Social Opportunities Project, GSOP, National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). We are also engaged with civil society, although not enough Civil Society Organizations (CSO) is working in social protection. We meet quarterly to provide data and develop programmes together. We have five key ministries involved with technical committees. In 2010, MOUs were signed with these ministries that provide a statutory framework for the technical committees in social protection.

There are no such committees for children affairs since all the departments and agencies fall under the ministry. We’ve been able to come up with a child protection policy and a child justice policy. In streamlining the campaign against gender-based violence, we are working with the Ministry of Justice, the Police and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Domestic Violence and Victims’ Support Unit (DOVVSU) and others. Our primary objective when we meet is to share information. On the issue of gender, we’ve set up a gender sector working group. We’ve signed gender mainstreaming MOUs with various ministries. In the next few weeks we will be organising training in gender budget analysis.

Kinna: What is your opinion on the recent decision by some healthcare providers not to accept the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card? Nana Oye: I am yet to engage with them on the issue. The Ministry of Health is doing that. But I am concerned about the vulnerable in society, such as the elderly, I am concerned their cards won’t be accepted. Care for the elderly in Ghana is totally new, this is the first time in Ghana we are having specific policies meant for them.

We are setting up an Advisory Council for the Elderly; we have sent requests to some organisations to bring their members on board. We have registered over 3,600 elderly people for the NHIS free of charge. We have engaged the Alzheimer’s society. The Ministry of Health must have a geriatric department. We are going to give the elderly free bus rides and give them cards to get priority access to banks and private rides. Kinna: Some people argue that instead of social interventions, the government ought to improve the economy and let people be able to afford such things themselves. Nana Oye: That sounds good but the reality is that some people will fall through the cracks, For example, the elderly, the informal sector, PWDs, orphans and other vulnerable people. The family system is broken; the need for social protection is therefore much needed. We have about 18.7% extreme poor and that is why we have the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme. We give a minimum of GH¢45 every 2 months to 73,134 households in 100 districts. There has been an impact analysis and Ghana’s programme has been judged as one of the best in Africa. Kinna: How are the households chosen? Nana Oye: We currently use a questionnaire, but the World Bank is building a database of recipients. Kinna: Do we collect enough data about our welfare programmes? Nana Oye: We need to do a lot more. It appears people don’t know about the figures and impact. We have about 44 social protection projects all being funded by the government. There must be broken down into a focus of about 11. A focus will help reduce inequality and poverty. For women alone, we have about 54,000 being employed as part of the Ghana Social Opportunities Project, GSOP that is being implemented by the local government ministry. These people are employed during the lean seasons, and we are able to calculate man hours and payment. We are also targeting the issue of child marriage. Kinna: How widespread is child marriage? Nana Oye: The national rate is about 27%; this puts Ghana among the worst 20 or 30 countries globally in terms of child marriage. Kinna: Where is there the most resistance? Nana Oye: I do not want to single out one community. It is a cultural issue that is exacerbated by poverty. We are currently focusing on prevention – engaging with queen mothers, getting education for the girls, media work and engaging with communities. Child marriage is illegal but the communities don’t see it that way. We must handle the issue in a cohesive way in order not to antagonise or alienate the communities. Kinna: Is it true that adoption of children by foreigners has been halted? Nana Oye: All adoptions have been halted. What people need to do now is to apply to the ministry. But we must set up central authority to be in charge of that. People were taking our children away anyhow. It was important that we act. Kinna: What’s your opinion on the US$156m World Bank loan which has become defined by the sanitary pad issue? Nana Oye: Ghanaians should support it. It is part of a package. It has a positive impact on keeping girls in schools. Kinna: I can recall when I schooled in New York they had school based clinics. Sanitary pads were given there. Nana Oye: It boils down to the gender aspect of it. It’s a cultural thing. Some people don’t realise the importance of these things. Some girls use rags, leaves and cement bags. People don’t understand that some people can’t afford it. Kinna: I realised that you are available every Wednesday, from 2pm to 4pm, and people can walk in to see you without an appointment. Are you the only minister who does this? Nana Oye: I don’t know that for a fact. A lot of the people who come to see me want some kind of support. I’m working gradually to let people know that they don’t have to see the minister, they can equally see the deputy minister or the chief director. Kinna: Thank you for talking to informGhana. Nana Oye: You are welcome.