UNICEF and MLGDRD Launch Empowerment Programme for Out-of-School Girls.

Bolgatanga: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD), has launched a programme aimed at providing livelihood empowerment support for poor and vulnerable out-of-school adolescent girls and young female adults. This initiative, called the 'Livelihood Empowerment and Productive Inclusion Programme for Out of School Adolescent Girls and Young Female Adults,' focuses on preventing and addressing issues related to child marriage and teenage pregnancies in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality in the Upper East Region and East Mamprusi Municipality in the North East Region.According to Ghana News Agency, the programme seeks to enhance income security and economic opportunities for at-risk adolescent girls, while also increasing their bodily autonomy and decision-making power. This will aid their transition into adulthood. The programme will leverage existing government social protection interventions and target a dolescent girls aged 16 to 21 living in Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Programme (LEAP) households, as well as those involved in the Ghana Health Service Adolescent Safety Net Programme and the Complementary and Livelihood Asset Support Scheme (CLASS).As part of the broader 'UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage,' this pilot initiative will offer comprehensive vocational and business skills training to these vulnerable groups. During the launch event in Bolgatanga, Ms. Christiana Gbedemah, a Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF, highlighted that despite a decline in child marriage rates in Ghana from about 40 percent in the 1980s to 19.3 percent in 2018, one in five girls still marries or enters an informal union before the age of 18. She cited persistent challenges such as poverty, economic hardship, and inadequate education as contributing factors.Alhaji Amin Abdul Rahaman, Chief Director of the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development, noted in a speech that the initiative represents significant progress in the government's mission to empower vulnerable populations. The initiative aligns with the government's focus on skills development and community empowerment, and the ministry is committed to ensuring its success.Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, the Upper East Regional Minister, emphasized the economic pressures that lead families to marry off young girls and highlighted the programme's potential to address such issues. He expressed gratitude to UNICEF and all stakeholders involved and pledged full support for the successful implementation and potential expansion of the project.The chief executives and coordinating directors of the two municipalities involved have also expressed their commitment to the project's implementation.