On the 9^th of November, 2023, the Department of Social Welfare organized a Stakeholder engagement meeting at the Ketu North District to solicit their support and involvement in the implementation of the Integrated Social Services.

The objective of the programme was to enhance service delivery to the vulnerable through teamwork, partnership and collaboration from both formal and non-formal actors through the implementation of targeted activities

The overarching goal was to improve well-being outcomes for the vulnerable in the communities.

Fourteen (14) out of the Eighteen (18) MMDAs in the Volta Region were involved in the implementation of the Integrated Social Services which was being rolled out nationwide by the Government of Ghana with support from UNICEF.

As part of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council’s monitoring and technical support functions, the Regional Department of Social Welfare, was at the Ketu North Municipal Assembly to provide the necessary support towards their engagement of various stakeholders.

The Regional Director who also doubled as a facilitator for the programme took participants through an activity called ” the Circle of Support” to illustrate the important role of duty bearers in collaboratively addressing child protection concerns and the associated dangers when one duty bearer fails to perform its role.

She stated that “Protecting the vulnerable in our communities is a shared responsibility”

The Regional Director also took participants through the various policies which provided a background to the ISS such as the 1992 constitution of Ghana, the Child and Family Welfare Policy, the National Health Policy and the National Gender Policy, among others.

She enumerated the challenges that necessitated the call for integrated service delivery including, a lack of teamwork and effective collaboration among stakeholders to address issues of vulnerability in a coordinated manner.

The forum was very engaging as participants asked questions and shared personal experiences.

The Coordinating Director for Ketu North Municipal Assembly, Mr. Jasper Adenyo who welcomed participants to the programme was very hopeful that the programme would provide the necessary platform to engage stakeholders on other developmental issues in the district.  Participants were drawn from both the formal and informal sectors such as Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, Immigration Service, the National Commission for Civic Education, the Judicial Service, the Clergy, the Police Service, Prisons Service, Assemblymen and Traditional Rulers.