Gary al-Smith, M.anifest, MzVee, and Wiyaala join UNICEF to call for fairer chances for adolescent girls in Ghana
Four of Ghana’s best known
personalities joined UNICEF in the call for fairer chances for
adolescent girls in Ghana, as they travelled to schools and communities
in the Northern Region.
Musicians M.anifest, MzVee and
Wiyaala, and sports broadcaster Gary al-Smith were part of a UNICEF
delegation last week to meet adolescent girls and boys where they
listened to their challenges, encouraged them in their ambitions – and
promoted a healthier lifestyle through encouraging girls to engage in
physical activity by playing more Ampe – a popular playground game in
Ghana – or participating in sports.
There are approximately 5.5 million
adolescents – children aged between 10 and 19 years old – in Ghana, and
this population is likely to increase in the next few years. Several
challenges beset adolescent girls, in particular. Research has found
that one in five girls is married before her 18th birthday in
Ghana – and one in three girls in the three northern regions. Nearly
one in two of all adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 years are
anaemic – resulting in less energy and attention to engage in schooling,
physical exercise or other activities. Just over one in three girls
aged 15-19 years reported to have experienced at least one act of sexual
violence. Almost all adolescent girls sometimes miss school due to
menstruation and half of all females aged between 15 and 24 years old do
not engage in any form of physical exercise.
“Adolescence is a crucial period of
every child’s life and many young girls can feel vulnerable as they
transition from childhood to adulthood,” said Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF
Representative in Ghana. “The opportunities that girls are offered, and
the support they are given can play a vital role in their chances of
success in the future. It is essential to give every girl the best
start as she enters into adulthood.”
With the support of the Korean
International Co-operation Agency (KOICA), UNICEF is working to address
many of these challenges facing adolescent girls in Ghana, including
reducing the levels of gender based violence and child marriage and
providing opportunities for girls to overcome barriers as they define
and shape their ambitions. Work also includes enabling more adolescent
girls to stay in school at junior and senior high level, through a
variety of ways, including support for rural girls and teenage mothers,
the provision of iron folic supplements to tackle anemia through its
GIFTS (Girls Iron Folic Acid Tablets Supplements) programme, providing
adequate sanitation facilities at schools and educating girls and boys
about dignified menstrual hygiene management.
During the visit musician Wiyaala
spoke of her passion for visiting the schoolchildren and communities: “I
come from a town with very few opportunities for young people to make
it in life, but I was able to break through and have a successful
career. I want to take advantage of this to ensure that children have
someone they can look up to and a chance to succeed in life.”
Rapper and singer-songwriter M.anifest
shared his thoughts as he said: “Every child deserves to have a great
childhood. The opportunity to meet these young people enables me to
better understand how change in their lives actually can take place.”
As he travelled through Kpandai, broadcaster Gary al-Smith said:
“Gender inequality is a critical area
that we have to work hard to tackle. With my influence on a lot of boys
through sports, I hope to empower girls as well to be just as confident –
if not even more.”
Singer MzVee shared her enthusiasm at
being part of the delegation: “To have an opportunity to collaborate
with UNICEF and work to empower every girl is amazing. I’m doing this in
the hope that in a few months or years, girls in Ghana would have a
better life than they do now.”
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