The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) have reported that ten out of fifteen foreign child beggars rescued by its task force have tested positive for HIV, Tuberculosis, and COVID-19 after going through medical screening.
These underprivileged children, mainly brought in from Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger, were picked from the streets in a swoop by a joint task force of the Social Welfare department and the Assembly led by Chief Executive Officer Samuel Pyne.
They are noted for begging for alms along streets and major traffic intersections of the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi.
Speaking to Kojo Marfo on Abusua FM’s Morning Show “Abusua Nkomo”, the Kumasi Mayor pointed out that the issue had become challenging as no private home was tooled to accept the children.
“We needed to deal with them by taking them to a private home but do you think they will be glad to take such children having these conditions? They do not have any isolation or holding centers to deal with these cases,” he empathized.
Sam Pyne indicated that his outfit was in constant talk with the Regional Security Council to lobby for a state-owned shelter in Kumasi since the Kumasi Children’s Home now falls under the jurisdiction of the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly.
“If you care to know, we don’t even have a shelter in Kumasi now. What we used to have in the Kumasi Children’s Home, has been taken over by Asokore Mampong because of the demarcation in the creation of that municipality,” Mr. Pyne bemoaned.
He also expressed concern over ECOWAS’ protocols that disallowed Ghana from repatriating the children, compelling them to only refer the children to the hospitals for treatment.
Disappointingly, orphanages have refused to receive the rescued children because of their HIV status.
