Social Welfare Minister Records High Gains
Minister of Social Welfare Gender & Children’s Affairs Dr. Soccoh Kabia has said in Freetown that the Government of Sierra Leone considers the issue of children a priority and has therefore decided to do a lot in improving their status and welfare in the country.
According to the minister, children and gender issues are a compendium of many issues and said “in order to ensure objectives are actually achieved,” a holistic approach has been adopted by his Ministry, which he said streamlines each objective to indicators that ensure their success.”
“We have put structures in place, women and children are duly protected now that we have laws that are meant to take the fight of women and children,” he said.
The minister made these statements during an interview with Sierra Express Media.
“The Ministry of Social Welfare and Children’s Affairs work very closely with Family Support Units in the Sierra Leone Police from national, down to local District and ward levels,” he said. Dr. Kabia also revealed that the newly established directorates are all given specific functions targeting the interest of women, children, juvenile delinquency, child trafficking, domestic violence and a host of other issues that fall within the mandate of the Ministry.
He spoke about the reformation of Child and Gender laws to fit specific situation, which he said the government hopes to tackle through the Social Welfare Ministry.
On the effectiveness of such laws, the Minister said Government has improved our working relations with the courts, the police, and traditional and local leaders to ensure that anyone caught violating the law relating to women and children are brought to the law.
Speaking on juvenile delinquency, Minister Kabia said Government has established and rehabilitated existing reform schools where child offenders are rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. “We have put systems in place that ensures offending children have access to formal education as well as counseling which is aimed at restoring their lost dignity and confidence and bringing them back into society.
On a grander scale he said, his ministry works closely with line Ministries like Education and Health “to ensure that children’s issues are given the correct priority and desired attention.”
Other agencies like UNICEF, Save the Children UK, and WFP are all working closely in various facets of children’s matters.
The Minister expressed that his Ministry is concerned about reports hiking the level of infant and maternal mortality in the country. Dr. Kabia who had manned the Ministry of Health until a short time ago when he moved over to the Social Welfare & Gender Ministry said he is aware that “we have a situation in infant and maternal mortality in the country, but rocketing it that far is a complete distortion of the reality and a move to discredit the hard work of the government for the past two years,” he said.
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