HGP Nightly News – Opposition Parliamentarian and Leader of the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), Amanza Walton, has raised concerns about whether government interventions aimed at protecting vulnerable girls are actually producing measurable results, following responses provided by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security in the National Assembly.
The concerns stem from parliamentary responses which revealed that 584 girls under the age of 16 who became pregnant were referred to the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) between 2020 and 2025.
Walton said the figure alone should trigger national concern.
“We are talking about hundreds of children under the age of 16 becoming pregnant over a five-year period. Each of these cases represents a child whose circumstances required intervention from the child protection system, the healthcare system, the education system, and in many cases, the criminal justice system,” she stated.
While acknowledging that the Ministry outlined a broad framework of support services, including counselling, monitoring, risk assessments and healthcare interventions, Walton argued that Parliament was not provided with enough information to determine whether those measures are improving outcomes for the girls involved.
One of the issues highlighted by the MP was the Ministry’s admission that it could not provide data showing how many of the underage girls who were referred to the CPA ultimately gave birth.
“The Ministry states that the Agency is involved before birth, at birth, and after birth. Yet Parliament is being told that the system cannot identify how many girls within that cohort ultimately gave birth. That should concern anyone interested in evidence-based policymaking,” Walton said.
She argued that effective policymaking depends on reliable data and measurable outcomes.
“The Government frequently speaks about data-driven decision-making. I support that principle. But data-driven decision-making requires data. If we cannot measure the population moving through the system, how do we evaluate whether interventions are working?” she questioned.
Walton also took issue with what she described as an emphasis on programme activities rather than results.
“There is a fundamental difference between describing what a programme does and demonstrating what a programme achieves. Counselling, referrals, assessments, monitoring and case management are important activities. But activities are not outcomes,” she said.
According to Walton, Parliament and the public deserve to know whether vulnerable girls are becoming safer, healthier and more likely to remain in school as a result of government interventions.
“It is not enough to tell the public how much money was allocated, how many assessments were conducted, how many referrals were made, or how many meetings were held. The real question is what changed,” she argued.
The MP said the issue takes on added significance following recent public comments from the head of the Childcare and Protection Agency that Guyana is failing its children.
“If we are serious about protecting vulnerable children, then we must be equally serious about measuring results. Good intentions, programme descriptions, and budget allocations are not enough. We need evidence that the interventions being undertaken are improving outcomes for the children they are intended to serve,” Walton stated.
