UNICEF has called for a dedicated budget for child protection in Ghana’s 2027 budget, warning that fragmented allocations are leaving frontline services without adequate resources to protect vulnerable children.

The agency says although the government's allocations to child protection have increased in nominal terms, much of the funding is going into compensation, leaving limited resources for goods and services needed to carry out essential child protection interventions.

The call was made at the JoyNews SOS Children’s Villages Dialogue on Thursday, September 17, where UNICEF Ghana Social Policy Specialist Kwesi Asante proposed ring-fencing child protection funding through the District Assemblies Common Fund or establishing a dedicated core budget line.

Mr Asante said this would ensure adequate resources are available to sustain child protection services and interventions, particularly at the local level.

He noted that while government had increased its nominal allocations to child protection year-on-year, a significant proportion of the funding was being absorbed by compensation, with less going towards goods and services.

According to Mr Asante, the limited allocation for goods and services was affecting the operational budgets of agencies responsible for implementing child protection interventions.

He urged government to safeguard social sector financing despite the current fiscal constraints.

“Within this fiscal austerity period, let’s protect the social sector financing; let’s protect child protection financing within this period,” he said.

Beyond funding, Mr Asante identified the shortage of social welfare personnel as another major gap in Ghana’s child protection system.

He said only about 49 per cent of the optimal social sector workforce was currently in place, leaving a 51 per cent gap.

According to him, the shortage was placing additional pressure on the existing workforce and limiting the capacity of frontline workers to effectively handle child protection cases and interventions.

He said sustained financing, alongside efforts to strengthen the social welfare workforce, would be critical to improving the delivery of child protection services and support for vulnerable children.

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