Accra: The Cyber Security Authority on Friday held a stakeholders’ engagement to discuss efficient measures to protect children with disabilities online.

According to Ghana News Agency, the meeting assembled officials from the Ghana Education Service, the National Council on Persons with Disabilities, Department of Children, UNICEF, and other disability organisations to discuss a structured approach to safeguarding children in the digital environment.

Participants at the workshop called for the inclusion of parents and caregivers of children with disabilities in the process to ensure that the majority of children with disabilities were protected by the policy.

Mr. Edwin Kweku Andoh, Executive Secretary at the National Council on Persons with Disabilities, in a speech read on his behalf, emphasized that children with disabilities deserved a leap by developing an inclusive child online protection framework, addressing their critical needs with the appropriate tools, strategies, and policies.

‘The National Council on Persons with Disability subscribes to developing an inclusive design that seeks to implement the National Online Protection Framework through intersectoral collaboration. It will help ensure that digital platforms and services are designed to benefit Children with Disabilities, with accessibility in mind,’ he said.

Mrs. Mary Ama Bawa, Communications Lead at the Cyber Security Authority, stated the importance of amplifying awareness and advocacy about child online protection. She highlighted the need to empower and include parents and caregivers of children with disabilities in the process.

Mr. Nelson Herald Darko, Senior Manager at the Child Online Protection Unit of the Cyber Security Authority, noted that the Government, through the Ministry of Communications, constituted a steering committee to develop a National Child Online Protection Framework in August 2016, guided by a five-year implementation plan.

The plan sought to address child online protection on five pillars: Legal measures, Technical and Procedural measures, Organisation Structure, Capacity building, and International Cooperation.

The International Telecommunications Union launched the Global Cybersecurity Agenda in 2007 and the Child Online Protection initiative with UNICEF in 2008. This initiative focuses on the cybersecurity of children and young people in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Sustainable Development Goals.