Wednesday the 11th of October of 2017 marked the International Day of the Girl Child 2017. This is the international observance day declared by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of the Girl and the International Day of the Girl. The observation supports more opportunity for girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide. This inequality includes areas such as access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, protection from discrimination, violence against women and forced child marriage. The celebration of the day also reflects the successful emergence of girls and young women as a distinct cohort in development policy, programming, campaigning and research. Many global development plans do not include or consider girls, and their issues become “invisible.” More than 62 million girls around the world have no access to education. Worldwide and collectively, girls between the ages 5 to 14 spend more than 160 million hours more on household chores than boys of the same age. The Day of the Girl helps raise awareness not only of the issues that girls face, but also what is likely to happen when those problems are solved. For example, educating girls helps reduce the rate of child marriage, disease and helps strengthen the economy by helping girls have access to higher paying jobs.
In order to support more opportunities for girls and stop inequality in the field of health access ; Fay International Ltd, collaborated with Cross Roads International, The High Commission of Canada, Girls Education Initiative of Ghana, Power to Girls Ghana and Women in Law & Development Africa – Ghana for the Day of the Girl Conference in Accra on the 11th of October 2017. The conference took place in Osu Presbyterian Hall, Accra with motivational speakers such as Dr. Zanetor Agyeman Rawlings, MP (daughter of ex- President Jerry Rawlings, 1st President under the 4th Republic of Ghana and former first lady Nana Konadu Agyeman) currently medical doctor and MP representing the Korle Klottey constituency. The conference was opened with the speech of Djifa Ahado, First Secretary of Development and Senior Programme Analyst for the Government of Canada – High Commission of Canada pledging that the Canadian Government is doing all it can to support girls. Interesting fact to know, is that it is Canada whom submitted a resolution to the United Nations for international recognition of Day of the Girl. The Fay International Ltd. marketing manager, Mary Achieng Ojuka, introduced menstrual hygiene management to the girls and distributed safe and healthy Faytex menstrual pads to the students of OPPS, St. Barnabas and Teshie Lekma.
The celebration of the Day of the Girl was such a success that it made it into the Ghanaian Times a few days later. Find the news article below or click on this link.
Download the agenda of the Day of the Girl celebration.
