MEDIA ENGAGEMENT ON THE CHILD MARRIAGE INFORMATION PORTAL- SOUTHERN ZONE

On Friday, 17th January 2025, in Accra, the Child Marriage Unit under the auspices of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection conducted a one-day Training programme focused on enhancing Media engagement strategies for the Child Marriage Information Portal in the Southern Zone.

This training follows a similar programme held in the Ashanti Region in December 2024 for stakeholders of the Northern Zone.

The engagement sought to equip the media professionals and stakeholders with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively disseminate information and drive awareness about child marriage prevention.

The training was designed to achieve the following objectives;

To raise awareness of the Child Marriage Information Portal as a resource for combating child marriage.

Familiarise participants with the features and functionalities of the Child Marriage Information Portal

To develop strategies for leveraging media platforms to maximise the portal visibility and impact.

Welcoming the media personnel, the Head of the Child Marriage Unit, Madam Saphia Tamimu, through the Chief Director of MoGCSP, Dr Afisah Zakariah, stated that the collaborative efforts to end child marriage practice, hence the National Child Marriage Information Portal was launched in 2021 by MoGCSP and UNFPA.

According to her, the portal is intended to provide the public with the precise data and information on child early, forced marriage and provide a link for people to report such cases.

She called on the media professionals to utilise the child marriage information portal for the unit and the ministry to get a desirable result they envisage in meeting the agenda 2030 call to eliminating child marriage.

During the training, the Consultant of the Child Marriage Information Portal, Mr. Senanu Agboza, highlighted the media’s pivotal role in raising awareness and fostering action on the portal.

He added that child marriage is not merely a cultural issue but a violation of human rights that perpetuates cycles of poverty, limits access to education, undermines health and development of children, especially girls.

Mr. Senanu Agboza therefore urged the media to explore the information portal, use it as a catalyst for change, and educate the public on the existence of the portal. Thus ensuring that it reaches diverse stakeholders, families, educators, and hard to reach communities.

The Chairperson of the Portal’s Editorial Team, Dr Sampson Appiah encouraged the media personnel to partner with policy makers, NGOs and community leaders to amplify the impact of the portal in ending early and forced child marriage in the country.

The training covered the following sessions;

Presentation on CMI Portal, Editorial Guidelines, and Ethical Notes.

With sustained efforts and collaboration, the information portal can become a vital tool in creating a child marriage-free in the country.

Source: MoGCSP