FOSDA is saddened by the news of the death of eight school children in the Sene East District of the Bono East Region of Ghana. The children are reported to have met their untimely death whilst crossing the volta lake to school on Tuesday 24th January 2023 .

This unfortunate event, which is totally unacceptable, is a strong indication that Ghanaians continue to face serious human security threats on a daily basis. This sad incident goes beyond the education sector. It is a strong indicator of how Ghana is delivering on the human security needs of its people, including personal and economic security. Such avoidable and preventable deaths negatively affect the sense of safety and security of individuals.

Policy makers are failing to adequately address the human security needs of Ghanaians that will ensure citizens to live free from want, fear, anxiety and indignity. These are very important cardinals of human security that state must aspire to for which citizens must continuously hold duty bearers accountable.

We call on the Ministry of Education to ensure that education facilities are made more accessible to students and pupils. The Ministry must prioritise the situation of schools in every community to avoid long distance travels especially for children at the basic level, whether by road by air or by water.

The Ministry of Interior, the Local government ministry and MMDAs have the responsibility to ensure that safety laws are enforced in every part of the country. It is crucial that our duty bearers are proactive in legislating safety protocols and ensuring that citizens comply for the benefit of society. We must learn lessons from this unfortunate incident and ensure that citizens crossing rivers all over the country are in life jackets and safe travelling equipment.

It is important that citizen comply with safety rules and regulation and continuously hold dutybearers accountable.

We at FOSDA express our deepest condolence to the bereaved families of the young children.