Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang on Wednesday joined stakeholders at a Strategic Planning Retreat organised by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) to chart a transformative path for children and adolescents in Ghana.
Held under the theme “Planning Together for a Better Future for Children and Adolescents in Ghana”, the retreat brought together policymakers, development partners, and civil society actors to explore integrated strategies for child welfare.
The Vice President, speaking at the event, stressed that the success of the retreat—organised in partnership with UNICEF—would be measured not by dialogue alone, but by the concrete actions that follow.
“Too many children still face deprivation, while child poverty remains a serious concern,” she noted, calling for urgent reforms across education, social protection, justice, sanitation, economic policy, climate resilience, and governance.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang highlighted several ongoing government initiatives aimed at strengthening child protection. These include the Care Reform Roadmap, which prioritises safe, family-based care over institutionalisation, and the rollout of a Digital Social Services initiative to enhance coordination and accountability.
She also cited efforts to promote adolescent safe spaces, community prevention programmes, and the Ghana Against Child Abuse campaign as part of a broader push to empower young people.
Reaffirming the government’s commitment to early childhood development, the Vice President said the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy remains a national priority, adding that “investing in children aged 0–8 is essential to long-term development.”
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