She said the plastic value chain included persons with disabilities, those living in poverty, women, ethnically marginalised populations, migrants, elderly, youth, and children and child pickers.

“To inform the implementation of responsive actions, the Gh-NPAP seeks to understand the root causes, sources and issues of inequalities,” Madam Hayford said.

The Minister Designate made the statement at the launch of the NPAP Inclusive Context Assessment of the Informal Plastic Waste Sector in Accra.

She said the Partnership served as a national platform for multi-stakeholder cooperation, facilitating initiatives and funding to scale up and accelerate in-country partnerships that addressed plastic waste and pollution, while contributing to the nation’s progress toward achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Intersectoral and Inclusive Social Context Assessment of Ghana’s Informal Plastics Waste Sector was conducted in six regions of Ghana, namely Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, Western, Ashanti and Northern Regions.

Madam Hayford said the NPAP’s work was underpinned by stakeholder commitment to advancing gender equity, inclusion, and the livelihoods of traditionally marginalised people and communities.

The Ghana NPAP Secretariat with support from Global Affairs Canada undertook a Gender Analysis of the Plastics and Plastic Waste Sectors in Ghana in May 2022, which uncovered significant roles played by men and women across various sectors of the plastic industry.

The Minister Designate added that the Assessment pointed out notable data gaps regarding other identities in the plastic value chain beyond gender, hence the need for the NPAP.

She said MESTI recognised the important role played by the informal plastic waste sector in tackling the pollution in Ghana, thus one of the four focus of the policy was, “Good Governance, Inclusiveness and Shared Accountability.”

“Through the Policy, MESTI intends to ensure fairness of treatment for women, men and vulnerable groups according to their respective needs,” she added.

Madam Hayford said the Ministry was committed to taking steps to implement the actions from the report to ensure that a plastics circular economy that was inclusive and integrated the informal plastics waste sector in Ghana was achieved.

Madam Eunice Oparebea Osafo, the Deputy Director, Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, said the gender and social inclusion dimension of plastic pollution was a phenomenon less addressed in the country, hence the need to channel some energy into public sensitisation in that regard.

She said the Ministry had developed several policies such as Child Protection, Social Protection, and National Gender policies to address bottlenecks and barriers as well as critical issues concerning inequality and exclusion.

“Let us rally behind the diligent implementation of the recommendations of the report to realise its intended purpose for our collective benefit. The Gender Ministry through the department stands ready to support initiatives like this,” the Deputy Director added.

Madam Kathleen Flynn-Dapaah, the Director and Head of Cooperation, High Commission of Canada in Ghana, said Canada, through its Feminist International Assistance Policy, was committed to helping countries and communities adapt to climate change, mitigate its impacts, and facilitate the transition to low-carbon, more circular economies.

She called for the active engagement of women and marginalised groups who were uniquely affected by the damaging effects of environmental and climate change in designing and developing strategic responses to these challenges.

Madam Flynn-Dapaah commended the Government for their leadership and commitment to addressing plastic pollution and transitioning to a more circular economy.