Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang is the Vice President of Ghana
Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has called for urgent, coordinated and child-centred national action to address persistent bottlenecks threatening Ghana’s ability to achieve key child-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
She made the call at the closing session of a Strategic Planning Retreat organised by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) at Akosombo on January 28, 2026.
The two-day retreat was held under the theme, “Planning Together for a Better Future for Children and Adolescents in Ghana.”
Addressing participants, the Vice President commended the NDPC for its leadership and expressed government’s appreciation to UNICEF for its continued support to children in Ghana.
“Our children’s health, education and protection are not optional; they are fundamental rights and the cornerstone of sustainable and inclusive development,” she said.
She stressed that planning for children must be placed at the centre of Ghana’s development strategy.
Quoting former US President John F Kennedy, she noted that “children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future,” a view she said aligns with President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to creating opportunities for every Ghanaian child through deliberate policies and effective leadership.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang acknowledged Ghana’s notable gains in child welfare, including:
95–97% immunisation coverage for key vaccines such as DTP3 and PCV3
Full settlement of US$24.5 million in immunisation co-financing in 2025
High school enrolment and completion rates from KG to JHS
Declines in child marriage and informal unions
However, she cautioned that Ghana is not on track to meet many child-related SDG targets by 2030.
She revealed that over 60,000 children are living and working on the streets in major urban centres, while nearly 30% of children lack birth registration, denying them legal identity and access to essential services.
Alarmingly, she said three out of every four children in Ghana are multidimensionally poor, amounting to about 10 million children facing overlapping deprivations in health, education, nutrition, water, sanitation, housing and protection.
Vice President backs land and water reforms to enhance food security
“If we fail our children today, we fail Ghana tomorrow,” the Vice President warned.
The Vice President highlighted several ongoing government initiatives aimed at improving child wellbeing, including:
Care Reform Roadmap (2024–2028) to shift from institutional care to family-based alternatives
Digital Social Welfare Information Management System (SWIMS) to improve child protection case management
Integrated Social Services (ISS) linking child protection, health, education and justice services
Adolescent Safe Spaces (PASS) in northern Ghana to empower young people with life skills and education
Ghana Against Child Abuse (GACA) campaign to combat child marriage, violence and exploitation
Early Childhood Care and Development Policy to strengthen foundations for children aged 0–8
In her remarks, NDPC Director-General, Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, said the retreat reaffirmed that child and adolescent wellbeing is a constitutional and developmental imperative.
She identified priority areas including maternal and neonatal mortality, nutrition, foundational learning, social protection and the urgent need to reduce child marriage, early unions and adolescent pregnancy.
“Today, we have children giving birth to children,” she lamented, calling for coordinated legal, educational, health and community-based interventions.
Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Samuel Kaba, shared emotional accounts highlighting the human cost of health system gaps, reaffirming his commitment to people-centred healthcare.
Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator Zia Choudhury praised Ghana’s leadership and stressed the importance of translating commitments into concrete budgets and sustained investments.
“When we work together across sectors, results for children are smarter, faster and more sustainable,” she said, reaffirming the UN’s support for Ghana’s child-centred development agenda.
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