Ghana Unveils Roadmap to Transform Child Care System, Prioritizing Family-Based Care
The roadmap is a significant step towards strengthening child protection in Ghana.
GHANA, 10 May 2024 – Today, Ghana launched a transformative Care Reform Roadmap.
The roadmap, developed by the Department of Social Welfare with support from UNICEF and USAID, prioritizes keeping children with their families or placing them in family-based care whenever possible.
Ghana has made strides in improving childcare standards, introducing kinship care, foster care, and legal guardianship as alternatives to institutionalization. However, challenges remain. Over 3,500 children reside in institutions, often for extended periods despite having living parents.
The Care Reform Roadmap aims to significantly increase family reunification and reduce the number of children in institutions by 30 percent within five years.
The roadmap outlines a strategy with a phased approach to achieve its goals by strengthening gatekeeping mechanisms to prevent unnecessary family separation.
The strategy also focuses on increasing support for foster families and addressing social norms that view institutions favourably by promoting families as the best option to nurture children's development.
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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work, visit: www.unicef.org
