The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has met with representatives of UNICEF Ghana to reaffirm collaboration on advancing Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) in Ghana.

The meeting focused on key priorities, including the implementation of the newly validated ECCD policy, improving birth registration systems, exploring sustainable financing, and strengthening coordination across sectors.

UNICEF commended the Ministry’s efforts and pledged continued support through technical assistance, capacity building, and advocacy.

The delegation also highlighted the potential of using ECCD centres to boost birth registration rates and supported a proposal to waive registration fees for children under five.

The Minister assured UNICEF of instituting systems and measures that reflect the government’s strong commitment to advancing issues of Early Childhood Care and Development in Ghana.

Both parties agreed to develop a national ECCD implementation plan, enhance community-based education, review birth registration processes, and mobilize resources for sustained impact.

To assess the progress, performance, and future directions of the Child Marriage Information Portal (CMIP), a one-day review meeting tailored for the editorial team and stakeholders was held on Thursday, June 5, 2025.

The programme is under the auspices of the Child Marriage Unit of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in collaboration with the United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA).

Among other things, the meeting sought to; Enhance editorial collaboration among stakeholders for effective content creation, Identify opportunities to enhance readers’ engagement and audience reach and increase accessibility and utilisation of the child marriage database.

Delivering her welcome address, the Chief Director of the Ministry, Dr Afisah Zakariah intimated that child marriage is a heinous act which robs millions of children especially girls of their childhood, education, and opportunities in their lives

She empathised that the CMIP developed by MoGCSP, Child Marriage Unit and the UNFPA, stands as a beacon of hope in fighting against child marriage.

‘This portal is a web-based platform that provides policymakers, practitioners, and the public real-time access to critical information on child marriage, sexual and gender- based violence,” she added

Dr Afisah Zakariah charged the editorial team and the stakeholders to work together to ensure the portal becomes a true one-shop for knowledge, empowering communities, informing policies, and driving action to meet the SDG of eliminating child marriage by 2030.

To buttress her point, the Head of the Child Marriage Unit, Madam Safia Tamimu underscored the importance of the CMIP as a tool of knowledge dissemination, data-sharing, and coordination in the national campaign to end child marriage.

She called on the officers to be bold in their commitment, share stories, amplify their successes, and confront challenges in order to promote transparency, access to data, and inter-sectoral collaboration in the CMIP.

During the meeting, the Representative from UNFPA Ghana, Madam Doris Mawusi Aglobitse, reaffirmed the organization’s ongoing support.

She urged participants to remain engaged in ensuring the child marriage information portal becomes a reliable, user- friendly and inclusive platform for national advocacy regarding child marriage.

The editorial team evaluated the portal’s effectiveness in providing credible, accessible, and actionable information related to child marriage in the country.

The review meeting brought forward actionable insights for improving the Child Marriage Information Portal, supporting the national efforts to end child marriage, and empowering affected communities in Ghana.