From Kwesi Yirenkyi Boateng, Wa
Most Rev. Richard Kuuia Baawobr, M.Afr., Bishop of Wa Diocese, has called on Ghanaians especially Christians, to reflect on the plight of the socially excluded and the poor, and consider ways to reach out to them.
He urged Parishes throughout the country, particularly those in his Diocese, to use the World Day of the Poor (Sunday November 19) to rethink inclusive development to address the plight of the poor in the country.
He said this at the opening of a National Seminar on the theme: Ensure No One is Left Behind in Ghana’s Implementation of the SDGs. The Seminar was organised by Caritas Ghana with support from Sightsavers, Caritas Africa, Marshallan Relief and Development Services (MAREDES) and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, at the Catholic Guest House, Tiegber in Wa recently.
Pope Francis recently named the thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary time (November 19) as the “World Day of the Poor” to help Catholics and other people reflect on the plight of the poor in society.
In his exhortation to mark the celebration of the Day, the Pope said: “If we want to help change history and promote real development, we need to hear the cry of the poor and commit ourselves to ending their marginalisation”.
The Bishop expressed worry at the deplorable conditions of the poor, the marginalised, and the mentally challenged. He entreated stakeholders to be effective and inclusive in their planning to ensure that no one was left behind in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The SDGs can bring real change, provided all stakeholders work at ensuring that every individual achieves the full package of rights and opportunities the SDGs express” he said.
Bishop Baawobr expressed optimism that “stakeholders in the implementation of the SDGs will find and agree on what to do so that no region or people or category of people is left behind, or worst still is exploited in the process”.
Very Rev. Fr. Daniel F. Saaka, Vice Rector at the St. Victor’s Seminary, Tamale, urged Parishes to give prominence to the World Day of the Poor, and use the occasion to champion the cause of the poor and the vulnerable.
He challenged Catholic Charity Organisations to continue to support the poor and vulnerable, especially those whose lives and property are under threat.
“The call for solidarity with the poor, is very significant” he stressed, entreating the Church to pay more attention to issues of child labour and trafficking, waste management, care for the environment and the culture of waste.
In a statement, Mr. Samuel Zan Akologo, Executive Secretary of Caritas Ghana, observed that incidences in our country of defilement of minors and disruptions to the school feeding programme in some very poor communities, that left children without their daily ration of food, were signs of a weakening system of protection for the vulnerable.
Decrying the elusive and scanty action given to social protection in the country, he called for demonstrable commitment by public policy actors and architects of national development plans to ensure social protection issues were adequately catered for.
“It is no longer acceptable that the weak, the poor, the marginalised and the vulnerable in society are an after-thought of planned policies and development programmes” he declared.
He explained that the principle to ‘Ensure No One is Left Behind’ meant a conscious policy and programming direction that aim at reaching first those furthest behind or at the periphery of society.
Mr. Akologo noted that the Seminar, a continuity of Caritas Ghana’s work last year, was to assess the status of Ghana’s implementation of the SDGs to ensure that everyone, especially the poor, understand how they will be accounted for when measuring progress with the SDGs.
Madam Grace Antwi-Atsu, Global Advocacy Advisor at Sightsavers, noted that her Organisation was working together with partners, including Caritas Ghana, to ensure that no one was left behind in the implementation of the SDGs.
This, according to her, was after the realisation that most Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), who make up 15 % of the world population, were not systematically included in the progress made against the Millennium Development Goals.
To make the biggest impact by 2030, Madam Antwi-Atsu said Sightsavers seeks new alliances and partnerships, as well as advocacy to ensure no one was left behind.
She called for evidence-based advocacy, and entreated funders, non-profits and other civil society groups to maintain pressure on governments to include PWDs and all the marginalised in their development plans.
Notwithstanding the considerable economic growth and reduction of poverty over the years, Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in a speech read for her stated that persistent economic and social inequalities called for the intensification, harmonisation and sustenance of interventions to deal with the problems.
She said poverty which has been halved from 56.5% to 24.2% nationally from 1992 to 2013, was still rife in the three northern Regions, with the Upper West recording 70%.
She noted that though efforts were being made to increase women participation in the political front and access to MASLOC to improve women financial status, among others. She also indicated that the Government will collaborate with Caritas Ghana and other development partners to provide better interventions to bridge the poverty gap.
Over 45 participants drawn from MAREDES, the Ghana Federation of the Disabled, Diocesan Development Officers, as well as Civil Society groups attended the two-day Seminar.
