The Cyber Security Authority (CSA), working with the Ghana Internet Safety Foundation and other partners, has called for a coordinated national response to online child sexual exploitation and abuse, warning that fragmented interventions are no longer sufficient as digital adoption accelerates.
The appeal was made at the National Online Safety Summit 2026 (NOSS2026), a two-day forum held under the theme “Closing the Gaps: Building a United Front Against Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Ghana.” Discussions centred on aligning early education with effective enforcement and repositioning online safety as a foundation for sustainable digital development rather than a reactive policy concern.
Participants urged a shift from after-the-fact responses to prevention-led strategies, emphasising the need to integrate education, regulation and enforcement into a unified national framework. Stakeholders also stressed closer collaboration among government agencies, law enforcement, schools, technology companies and civil society groups.
The CSA outlined 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 to grow alongside internet access and social media use.
Delivering the keynote address, Acting Director-General Divine Selase Agbeti 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 said 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.
Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department, noted the importance of a victim-centred approach supported by robust legal frameworks and inter-agency partnerships. She said effective prosecution and survivor support depend on coordinated intelligence, timely reporting and sustained cooperation across institutions.
The summit seeks to balance rapid digitalisation with stronger protections for vulnerable users, particularly children, amid rising concerns over cyber-enabled crimes. Organisers noted that the outcomes from NOSS2026 would inform future policy and operational reforms aimed at closing enforcement gaps and strengthening national resilience against online abuse.
