Ghana risks paying millions of dollars in rehabilitation costs in the coming years if the long-term impact of illegal mining on children’s health and welfare is not urgently addressed, the Executive Director of Child Rights International, Bright Appiah, has warned.

Speaking on the back of Joy News’s anti-galamsey campaign “Dear Mahama”, which exposed how girls in Kwesitwikrom are forced to use dirty pond water during menstruation, Appiah cautioned that the consequences of these rights violations may not be immediately visible but will be devastating over time.

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“It will take about 5, 10, or even 15 years for the effects on children to show. By that time, it will be too late for the state to reverse the damage. Rehabilitation will cost millions of dollars, especially in communities where this has become the norm,” Appiah said.

He stressed that the abuse of children’s fundamental rights—particularly their rights to health, protection, and education—underscores the urgent need for pragmatic state action to protect vulnerable children living in mining-affected communities.

“This is not an area we should take for granted or play with. Our social safety net as a country is already weak. If we delay, the cost—both human and financial—will be unbearable,” he added.

The warning comes amid growing concerns about the environmental and human cost of illegal mining activities, especially their impact on girls and young people in rural communities.