The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has stated that the launch of the Ghana Card number at birth system will help eliminate child trafficking in Ghana.

According to him, a system in which every child in Ghana is accounted for using the Ghana Card is crucial, stating that such a system would be beneficial in many aspects of childhood health intervention.

He emphasised the importance of the system helping to promote the health and wellbeing of children and contribute to economic development through accurate population records.

Speaking during the launch of the Ghana Card number at birth on Thursday, March 14, Dr Bawumia highlighted the importance of the Ghana Card in improving the accuracy of child mortality data and facilitating the computation of district-level fertility.

“This database would also help us to deal with the problem of child trafficking which is a major issue. When a child is trafficked and you are able to arrest the perpetrator, who is this child? If the child is on the NIA database, it is likely we would find out and return the child to their parents,” he said.

Read also: Bawumia launches Ghana Card number at birth

Dr Bawumia emphasised that the integration of databases from the Ghana Health Service, the NHIA Birth and Death registry has been successful.

He stated that the integration of the Ghana Card number means that children born in Ghana are assigned a unique identity connected to their mother's identity, from the moment they are born.

The Vice President mentioned that it is not only about issuing a Ghana Card number but recognising and affirming the rights and existence of the youngest citizens and laying the foundation for their future to ensure they have access to health

“The Ghana Card number at birth system promises many benefits which provide documentary evidence of legal identity, documentary, social relationship and rights from birth and ensure social protection.

"It enables effective planning of essential services like health, education and social welfare which supports economic growth, poverty reductions, generate continuous demographic data for better management and sectorial improvement in health and wellbeing”.