Bolgatanga, Oct. 7, GNA- Mr. Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister, at the weekend asked District Assemblies not to compromise the welfare of children because they were the wealth and future leaders of every nation.

He said for the country to accomplish this, they should make all programmes child friendly to ensure better life for children. Mr. Wayongo was addressing Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMCEs), District Coordinating Directors (DCDs), Presiding Members (PMs) and some heads of Department at a seminar in Bolgatanga. The seminar which was organized in collaboration with UNICEF with support from the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) aimed at orienting participants on some social and health related programmes implemented by some decentralized departments.

It was also to strengthen collaborations of all by the various District Assemblies (DAs) to ensure the success of these programmes. The programmes included health, nutrition, education, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene being implemented by the Ghana Health Service(GHS), the Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit(EHSU), Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Department of Social Welfare and Community Development with support from UNICEF. Mr. Woyongo was particularly worried about the increasing child rights abuses in the region such as defilement, child trafficking, and elopement of young girls, and forced marriages, as well as female genital mutilations and called on the DAs to mobilize forces to curb the situation.

He expressed government's gratitude to UNICEF for the continuous partnership in improving the welfare of children adding,"Government will continue to collaborate with UNICEF and other nations and international bodies to ensure better life for our people" he added. He emphasized on the region's commitment to partners to address the social problems that afflict the people of the area and expressed the firm hope that together, social and cultural practices that adversely affect the lives of the people would be reduced. Madam Amama Kaleem Habib, an official of UNICEF, congratulated the participants for the immense contribution they are making in bringing development in line with the decentralization concept, asking them not to relent in this regard.

Success stories and best practices were shared by departmental heads on the integrated Community Case Management of GHS, Community Led Total Sanitation Concept (CLTs) and others.