The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has donated GHc10,000 to the 31st December Women’s Early Childhood Day Care Centre at Makola Market to assess operations and interact with, children, caregivers and market women.
During the visit, the Minister engaged management of the Centre to better understand their concerns particularly in relation to early childhood care and development and emphasized government’s commitment to child protection and the importance of providing safe spaces for children of women working in the informal sector.
She also visited the Makola Clinic to inspect the state of the facility and assess service delivery and reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to improve child welfare and maternal support systems within market spaces.
Dr Naa Momo noted that the engagement formed part of follow up actions after the revision of the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy. Noting that government remains deeply committed to child protection, particularly within the critical formative years of zero to eight.
She commended the leadership of the 31st December Day Care Centre for sustaining the initiative despite operational challenges, stressing that effective day care systems contribute significantly to reducing child abuse and neglect.
The Minister further highlighted plans to modernize and sustain market day care centres beyond political transitions, expand infrastructure in response to increasing demand, and scale up the concept across major markets nationwide.
According to her, the visit forms part of the Ministry’s broader efforts to strengthen the implementation of Early Childhood Care and Development Policy, ensuring that children particularly those in market environments are nurtured in safe and protective settings.
The Queen Mother of the Greater Accra Market Women Association welcomed the Minister and expressed appreciation for the visit, noting that market day care centres remain critical in supporting trading mothers and appealed for continuous support to improve infrastructure and care giving resources.
Grace Acheampong, ISD
