A three-year-old girl is in critical condition at the Trauma and Specialist Hospital in Winneba after reportedly being doused with boiling water by her stepmother.

The child’s biological mother said her daughter had travelled to spend the school break with her father in Winneba. She claims the father’s partner, identified only as Akaima, a Liberian national, poured the hot water on the girl’s genitals as punishment for wetting the bed.

The mother said she only uncovered the abuse when she went to collect the girl after her stay was extended beyond the agreed period.

"When I picked her up, she struggled to walk. On checking, I saw the wounds. She later told me her stepmother had poured hot water on her for bedwetting," the mother recounted.

Medical professionals at the Trauma and Specialist Hospital have confirmed that the girl sustained serious burns, requiring advanced and long-term medical care.

Child protection organisation Challenging Heights has offered to cover part of the treatment costs. Its Mother and Child Rescue Unit is also demanding the swift arrest and prosecution of both the stepmother and the father, who is alleged to have sanctioned the assault.

"We expect DOVVSU to take immediate action by arresting the woman and the father as well," said Enock Dery Paafu, Programmes Manager of Challenging Heights, in an interview with Citi News.

The organisation further urged government to empower and adequately resource child protection bodies such as the Department of Social Welfare, DOVVSU, and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, to strengthen safeguards for children across the country.

Police are yet to confirm if arrests have been made as investigations continue.