ECOWAS CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION PROGRAM FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A YOUTH RESOURCE CENTRE AT ELUBO IN THE JOMORO MUNICIPALITY


The Municipal Chief Executive for Jomoro Municipal Assembly, Hon. Louisa Iris Arde on 11th May, 2023 led officials of the National Youth Authority (NYA) headed by the Western Regional Director, Mr. Edwin Amponsah to inspect a site earmarked for the construction of a Youth Resource Centre at Elubo.

According to a research conducted by the National Youth Authority, it has been identified that there are a lot of crime related activities in Elubo including drug trafficking and illegal mining. Recently, there have been cases of human trafficking where Ghanaians and other foreign nationals were arrested for attempting to traffic young girls to Cote D’Ivoire for prostitution. Ghana has been losing thousands if not millions of cedis to smugglers who are mostly unemployed youth at various unapproved routes at Elubo.
The causal factors include:
lack of access to youth resource centres
Lack of support systems and business opportunities
Inadequate psycho-social counsellors.
Inadequate knowledge of SRH issues
weak institutional linkages
Per the research, it is evident that there is the need for the establishment of a youth resource centre in Elubo to address these challenges. Taking cognisance of the vital ingredients that go into the establishment of such centres, strategic partnerships should be built to ensure their functionality.
The project goal is to provide youth friendly services and economic empowerment opportunities to the border communities of both countries.

The project aims to construct a well-equipped youth resource center where young people can have access to ASRH information, psycho-social counselling, job opportunities and business support services. Volunteers will be recruited through NYA’s National Youth Volunteer Program to execute this project. The multi-purpose center will have the following facilities: General office, Counselling center, Language center, Commerce and trade center (AfCFTA office), Migration secretariat, Health/Screening center, Conference room and 2 dormitories.

PROVISION OF YOUTH-FRIENDLY SERVICES
The Youth Resource Centre will be run by resource persons and professional volunteers that will provide services like Sexual and Reproductive Health care for young people, psychosocial counselling for drug addicts and at-risk youth.
Also an AfCFTA Secretariat at the center will provide business support services and opportunities to young traders and entrepreneurs. To tackle the issue of language barrier, a center will be established for the youth to access the services of interpreters.
Per the psychology of the youth, the centre will be youth-friendly and beneficiaries will be accorded the necessary privacy and confidentiality as well as ample attention.
PARTNERSHIPS
NYA will directly implement the project with the support of Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) such as the Ghana Immigration Service, AfCFTA Secretariat, Ghana Enterprise Agency, NCCE, Ghana Police Service, Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, the Food and Drugs Authority, Mental Health Authority, the National Drugs Authority (NDA), NACOB, the Department of Social Development, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, Religious bodies and Traditional Authorities.
The project is anticipated to commence after assessment of the site and approval by Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Authority, Hon. Pious Enam Hadzide and will be completed and inaugurated in September 2023.

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