The Plight of Child Beggars in Ghana: Addressing Migration and Neglect
Child migration and neglect leading to a proliferation of child beggary in Ghana is a critical issue impacting the health and wellbeing of young migrants. This presentation highlights the background, triggers, dystopia faced by migrant children, health cases, and findings related to child beggary in Ghana. The urgent need for effective health policies to safeguard migrant child health is emphasized through comprehensive research aiming to address this endemic problem.
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Extreme Dilemmas of Child Migration and Child Neglect in Ghana: An Endemic Proliferation of Child Beggary - Impact on Child Health Manasseh Gowk International Recruitment Officer, PFL Education Ghana Researcher, Association of Poetry and Solidarity, Italy
Objective To challenge and promote efficacious health policies within Ghana to safeguarding migrant child health and wellbeing
Overview of Presentation Background of Study Triggers of Child Beggary Dystopia of the migrant children of Niger: An Eyesore Health Cases of Child Beggars in Ghana Apprehensions and Concerns Findings
Background of Study Undocumented child migration and child health neglect is increasing at an alarming rate in West Africa (Charri re & Fr sia,2008) Although there is appreciable media coverage on child migration and child neglect, there is less humanitarian action and workable policy implementation by government to end the proliferation of child beggary in Ghana (Eduafo- Abraham, 2018; see also Beggars & Destitute Act, 1969 N.L.C.D 392) There is the need for an accelerated research on migration- related health issues on child migrants in Ghana s cities and their concomitant implemental resolutions in the wake of the salient Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Lee et. al., 2017) Child beggary is a grey area of modern research in Ghana, with little methodological approach
Alarming Rates of Child Beggary in Ghana Child beggary in Ghana has become: a venture for revenue generation for some parents a canker that receives less or no workable humanitarian actions to halt it Parents migrate along with children aged 4yrs to 14yrs from rural areas within Ghana and largely from West Africa countries like Niger, Chad, Mali and Nigeria to engage them in beggary on the streets of Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi the 3 major cities in Ghana (Ayerh, 2018) Throngs of Nigeriens kids traveling into Ghana are: trained and supervised by parents and elder siblings for the beggary trade (cite)
Triggers of Child Beggary Poverty resulting from unemployment Single-parenting Impunity Lazy parents
Trained Beggars with Parents as Teachers: A Festering Dilemma, A Public Spectacle Burgeoning of West African migrant child beggars in Ghana Sheer parental callous maltreatment of their wards Over-reliance on children to fend for family by capitalizing on public empathy and Ghanaians soft spot for child beggars An apparent profitable venture for parents as long as children are under their guardianship or as long as extant child right laws do not forbid or penalize them for their insensate indulgence of children.
Dystopia of the Migrant Children of Niger: An Eyesore Background of Nigerien migrant children Immigrant child beggars from Niger (the Fulani kids) have increased over the last 3 years in Ghana (Peace FM, 2017) Juveniles from these countries trek miles on foot and others by road into Ghana to ply their beggary trade (The Chronicles, 2017). Children must provide daily income for parents at the detriment of their health. Nigerien juvenile beggars often reside in slums where health condition are debilitating; child rape and abuse is rife (Ghana News Agency, 2016).
Health Cases of Child Beggars in Ghana Physical Health Malnourished They spend the day begging in the hot sun with little or no food. Even when they eat, it is unbalanced diet Fatal injuries resulting from traffic collision causing deformities like broken or severed limbs or toes heatstroke and sunburns physical abuse esp. from parents; kidnapping and rape, ailments such as malaria and cholera Mental Health Parental abuse of children emotionally Rape and molestation in camps and slums leave juvenile beggars traumatized
Apprehension and CONCERNS There is the fear or concern that poverty-stricken homes will become susceptible to the temptation of compelling their wards to join in the beggary because it is lucrative With the alarming rates of child beggary in the 3 most busiest cities in Ghana, there is the little or no record of migrant Nigerien child beggars in the other 7 regions who have suffered health problems or have no assess to healthcare Growing xenophobia among Ghanaians may trigger harsh maltreatment of the Nigerien child migrants
Preliminary Findings Evolving Themes Most child beggars inherit this livelihood from parents and older siblings who benefitted from prolonged beggary in Ghana. Medical health education and health implementation programs by NGOs, humanitarian and migration agencies in Ghana are mostly geared at maternal health, HIV/AIDs, TB, cancer and Hepatitis education and eradication, drug abuse, blood donation, adolescent health; these campaigns are rarely extended to child beggars in Ghana.
Findings Continued Recognition of child migrants amongst the hardest to reach due to parental restriction to grant interviews or aid investigations - need for a multidimensional approach (Terre des Hommes OHCHR, 2015) Unlike other child migrants from Nigeria, Chad and Mali, the Nigerien child migrants integrate better into Ghanaian society due to their ability to learn and speak the local language (Twi) and English as well as pidgin faster and fluently. This ability provides a leverage for them to engaging pedestrians or commuters during their solicitation. In reducing the adverse effects on their health, this relationship must be prioritized and utilized (Amoah & Jorgensen, 2014) to understand their health needs.
Findings continued While efforts have been made to understand the ordeal of these migrants kids, information given by these children are largely unreliable juvenile beggars are warned by parents not to disclose facts about themselves or their parents. Political stability and public hospitality is a strong incentive for parents to migrate into Ghana to engage their vulnerable wards into the despicable trade.
Future Approach Adopting an all-inclusive migrant children health promotion action plan by a civil-led steering team of social workers, NGOs, migration agencies like IOM, religious, policy-makers groups as well as journalists. Aim To develop a pragmatic working document that elaborates a strategic approach to protecting the rights of Nigerien child beggars by demanding the utmost intimate collaboration of government(s) through stringent policy execution to clamping down migrant child beggary and promoting migrant child assess to healthcare in Ghana.
