Advocacy

Speaking Up for Every Child

Every child deserves to grow up safe, protected, and cared for within a supportive family and community. Yet across Ghana, many children continue to face violence, exploitation, child labour, trafficking, neglect, and family separation. These challenges often arise not only from individual circumstances, but from gaps in systems, harmful social norms, and limited access to support services for families. Behind these challenges are families struggling without adequate support, harmful social norms that normalise violence, and systems that sometimes fail to reach children when they need help most.

 

At SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana, advocacy is how we work to change these realities. We bring together evidence from our programmes, the voices of children and families, and partnerships with key stakeholders to influence decisions that improve children’s lives. We work with communities, government institutions, civil society, and development partners to ensure that systems, policies and commitments translate into real protection and opportunities for every child. We also work with the media to promote solutions that protect children and strengthen families.

Our vision for change 

We believe that when child protection policies are informed by evidence, duty bearers are supported and held accountable, and communities are empowered to protect children, sustainable change becomes possible. Through advocacy and strategic partnerships, SOS Children’s Villages Ghana contributes to reducing violence, preventing family separation, and ensuring that every child grows up with dignity, care, and opportunity.

Our advocacy efforts promote change through:

  • Policy engagement: Working with government institutions and decision-makers to strengthen child protection laws, policies, and their implementation.
  • Systems strengthening: Supporting better coordination, accountability, and service delivery within Ghana’s child protection system.
  • Positive social change: Promoting positive parenting and challenging harmful practices through community engagement and public awareness.
  • Evidence-based action: Using research, programme learning, and community experiences to inform advocacy messages and solutions.
  • Participation and voice: Creating safe platforms for children, young people, caregivers, and communities to contribute to decisions that affect them.
  • Partnerships: Collaborating with civil society organisations, traditional and religious leaders, the media, and development partners to achieve collective impact.

We work at national, district, and community levels, connecting local realities with national decision-making processes. We combine policy advocacy with community engagement to help ensure that commitments made for children translate into real improvements in their daily lives.

 

 

 

Advocate for children's right

Child and youth participation