Minister for Gender Tours 31st December Day Care Centre

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has paid a working visit to the 31st December Women’s Early Childhood Day Care Centre at Makola Market to assess operations and engage with children, caregivers and market women.

The visit formed part of efforts to monitor early childhood care services within market environments and to strengthen child protection systems. The Minister met with the management of the Centre to discuss operational challenges, particularly issues relating to early childhood care and development. She reaffirmed government’s commitment to providing safe and supportive spaces for children of women working in the informal sector.

Welcoming the Minister, the Queen Mother of the Greater Accra Market Women Association expressed appreciation for the visit and underscored the importance of market-based day care centres in supporting trading mothers. She appealed for sustained government support to improve infrastructure and caregiving resources.

As part of the visit, Dr. Lartey donated GH¢10,000 to the Association and the Day Care Centre to support their operations. She also presented drinks and biscuits to the children. The Minister further interacted with several market women to gain firsthand insight into their working conditions and explore ways government interventions could better respond to their needs.

The tour also took the Minister to the Makola Clinic, where she inspected the facility and assessed service delivery. She reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to collaborating with relevant stakeholders to enhance maternal and child welfare services within market spaces.

Addressing the media, Dr. Lartey explained that the engagement was part of follow-up actions after the revision of the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy. She noted that government, under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, remains firmly committed to child protection, particularly during the formative years from birth to eight years.

She commended the leadership of the 31st December Day Care Centre for sustaining the initiative despite operational challenges, stressing that effective day care systems play a critical role in reducing child abuse and neglect.

The Minister further disclosed plans to modernize and sustain market day care centres beyond political transitions, expand infrastructure to meet rising demand, and scale up the initiative across major markets nationwide.

The visit forms part of the Ministry’s broader strategy to strengthen the implementation of the Early Childhood Care and Development Policy and ensure that children in market environments are raised in safe and protective settings.