Bolgatanga, Sept. 27, GNA - Mr. Mark Woyongo, the Upper East Regional Minister, has said children’s welfare should not be compromised because they are the wealth and future leaders of every nation.

He said for the country to accomplish this, it needed efforts of all to ensure better life for children.

Mr. Wayongo said this at a seminar that Municipal and District Chief Executives, District Coordinating Directors, Presiding Members and some heads of departments in Bolgatanga attended.

The seminar, which was organized in collaboration with UNICEF with support from the Regional Coordinating Council, aimed at orienting participants on some social and health related programmes implemented by some decentralized departments.

It was also to strengthen collaboration of all by the various District Assemblies (DAs) to ensure the success of these programmes.

The programmes include health, nutrition, education, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene being implemented by the Ghana Health Service, the Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit, Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Department of Social Welfare and Community Development with support from UNICEF.

Mr. Woyongo said she was worried about the increasing child rights abuses in the region such as defilement, child trafficking, elopement of young girls and forced marriages as well as female genital mutilations and called on the district assemblies to mobilize forces to curb the situation.

He expressed government’s gratitude to UNICEF for the continuous partnership in improving the welfare of children.

Mr Woyongo said the region was committed to collaborating with partners to address the social problems that afflict the people of the area and expressed the hope that together, social and cultural practices that affect the lives of the people would be reduced.