Ghana’s efforts to lead child internet safety initiatives have been compared to a shining example for Africa and the rest of the world.
Afrooz Kaviani Johnson, the global chief child protection specialist at UNICEF’s headquarters in New York, applauded Ghana for establishing a legal framework to safeguard the rights of Ghanaian children online.
“I am happy Ghana has been able to put the fundamental structures in place for public education, social welfare, and awareness creation on child online protection. We really do look to Ghana as a case study example,” she said.
Afrooz Kaviani Johnson, leading a team from UNICEF Ghana, praised the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) Management during their visit to Accra. As part of her visit, Johnson participated in a stakeholder consultative meeting concerning the development of a Legislative Instrument (L.I.) related to the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), focusing on Child Online Protection.
Since 2016, Ghana has collaborated with UNICEF and other stakeholders to address Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) and integrate targeted interventions into the National Child Protection systems.
During their visit to the CSA, the UNICEF team engaged with civil society organizations and other relevant state institutions to contribute to the development of the Legislative Instrument.
Ms. Johnson commended Hon. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, the sector Minister, and Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, the Director-General of the CSA, for their leadership in safeguarding children against harmful online content. She also highlighted their collaboration on child online protection and cybersecurity issues.
Johnson stressed the importance of protecting vulnerable children, who make up a significant portion of the population in many African countries, from consuming inappropriate online content.
Dr. Antwi-Boasiako acknowledged UNICEF’s support in Ghana’s cybersecurity efforts. He cited the significant progress Ghana has made in cybersecurity readiness, attributing it to UNICEF’s collaboration and support. He praised Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister for Communications & Digitalisation, for her dedication to child protection, which led to the establishment of Child Online Protection systems in Ghana.
The Director-General proposed that the collaboration between the CSA and UNICEF be expanded and institutionalized in various areas, including awareness creation, research on child online protection, support for criminal justice responses, and victim support services.
He commended UNICEF for its humanitarian efforts and described the staff at UNICEF Ghana as “faithful servants and advocates of children in Ghana” for their dedication to child online protection.
Johnson was accompanied by Miho Yoshikawa, Hilda Mensah, Joyce Odame, and Benjamin Kobina Amoah Dadson from UNICEF Ghana Country Office during the visit.