SIC+ programme: Ghana - Child Online Africa

Child Online Africa (COA) is a prominent child-focused NGO operating in Ghana and across the African continent. Dedicated to championing policies and practices that safeguard child welfare, especially within the digital sphere, COA employs evidence-based advocacy and partnerships to drive its mission.

With a core emphasis on online safety, COA collaborates with various stakeholders and adopts rights-based approaches to promote child protection online. COA, with support from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) of the Africa Regional Office and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), convenes the Africa Safer Internet Day (ASID).

Awareness-raising activities include:

• Capacity and awareness campaigns for schools, media professionals, and the general public.
• Advocacy campaigns for child safety.
• Social media campaigns.
• Media literacy drive.
• Critical thinking campaigns.
• DQ implementor
• Digital Literacy Week celebrations
• Africa Week of Action For Child Online Safety

COA supports and promotes other agencies running helpline services in the awareness-creation effort. COA is currently participating in the Dragon+ project to share learnings and disseminate findings.

Ghana has an IWF hotline service positioned at the police headquarters. However, additions and provisions for the people's language needs need to be made.

COA has a group of young people who are called Africa Digital Leaders. These young people are trained to undertake research to review the implementation of the Ghana Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Last year, they wrote a report and are looking forward to preparing a follow-up report.