Stakeholders have called for accelerated and synchronized national action to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse as digital adoption expands across Ghana, warning that fragmented interventions no longer suffice.
The appeal emerged from the National Online Safety Summit 2026, held in Accra from February 3 to 4, 2026 under the theme, “Closing the Gaps, Building a United Front Against Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Ghana”.
The Cyber Security Authority (CSA), in partnership with the Ghana Internet Safety Foundation and other collaborators, convened the two-day forum to align early education with effective enforcement and reposition online safety as foundational to sustainable digital development rather than reactive policy implementation.
Participants emphasized a transition from after-the-fact responses toward prevention-led strategies, stressing the need to integrate education, regulation and enforcement into a unified national framework. Stakeholders also called for closer collaboration among government agencies, law enforcement, schools, technology companies and civil society organizations.
The CSA identified key online risks confronting children in Ghana, including exposure to inappropriate content, sextortion and online grooming, noting that the scale and sophistication of threats continue expanding alongside internet access and social media use.
Acting Director-General Divine Selase Agbeti, delivering the keynote address, described child online protection as a national security priority. He called on parents to become digitally informed, schools to embed digital citizenship and safety literacy into curricula, and technology companies to strengthen safeguards and accountability mechanisms.
Agbeti stated the authority would intensify efforts to improve reporting and response systems, expand data-driven threat analysis and deepen multi-stakeholder collaboration to better anticipate and disrupt online harms targeting children.
Commissioner of Police Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), emphasized the importance of a victim-centred approach supported by robust legal frameworks and inter-agency partnerships. She stated effective prosecution and survivor support depend on coordinated intelligence, timely reporting and sustained cooperation across institutions.
Ghana established the CSA through the Cybersecurity Act 2020, which mandated the authority to combat cybercrimes including child online abuse. The legislation provides a legal framework for identifying and addressing online child sexual exploitation and abuse, enabling governmental measures to tackle the issue.
The Act operates through collaboration among government, the Ghana Police Service and the CSA, focusing on improving the cyber tip line and implementing notice-and-takedown procedures with telecommunication companies. The cyber tip line allows anonymous reporting of online issues including child exploitation or cybercrime, while notice-and-takedown procedures require online service providers to remove or block access to illegal content following formal requests.
Agbeti assumed leadership of the CSA in March 2025, bringing experience from strategic positions across global institutions including the British Army, Barclays Global Headquarters, the Bank of England and British Petroleum. His career spans over two decades, demonstrating expertise in cybersecurity risk management, regulatory compliance, governance frameworks and physical security intelligence.
Donkor was appointed CID Director-General in March 2025 and promoted to Commissioner of Police in July 2025. In August 2025, she was elected to the newly established INTERPOL Africa Regional Committee, becoming the first Ghanaian woman to serve on the body.
The summit sought to balance rapid digitalisation with stronger protections for vulnerable users, particularly children, amid rising concerns over cyber-enabled crimes. Organizers indicated that outcomes from the event would inform future policy and operational reforms aimed at closing enforcement gaps and strengthening national resilience against online abuse.
Ghana’s digital landscape has experienced unprecedented growth, with over 38.3 million cellular mobile subscribers and internet-enabled technologies now integrated into schools, businesses and households. The expansion in mobile connectivity fuels innovation across sectors including finance, healthcare, education and entertainment.
The CSA currently chairs the Alliance of National Cybersecurity Authorities, placing additional responsibility on Ghana to support peers across Africa in strengthening regulation, incident response and information sharing.
The authority has developed several initiatives to enhance cybersecurity awareness, including the National Cybersecurity Challenge event, an annual high school competition designed to elevate awareness of cybersecurity best practices among students, tackle vulnerability online and empower them with confidence, safety and responsibility to engage with digital technology.
Source: Newsghana
