Unpacking locally led research and evaluation through the lens of collaborative autoethnography

Abstract Background: Evaluation in Africa and the Global South has been driven by external, often foreign, actors and focused on meeting donor funding needs, conducted through the lens of ‘others’ other than the affected populations. There is growing interest to change or decolonise this trend in the international development community. Objectives: To address the fundamental question of…

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Congratulations Chris

  Chris Empson Yebaoh is an accomplished and versatile professional with a strong academic background and work experience in various facets of accounting, finance, and administration. With a certification as a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Institute Of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG), a Master Of Business Administration (Finance-Final year), and a bachelor’s degree…

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Citizen’s Bureau: PDA Joins Stakeholder Group of CSOs to Strengthen Parliamentary Democracy

Over the past three decades, Ghana’s Parliament, in partnership with civil society organizations (CSOs) and development partners, has sought to bridge the gap between citizens and their elected representatives. These efforts have been aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in parliamentary processes, as well as the institutionalization of mechanisms to promote the Open…

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Organizational Development Support Services For CBOs And NGOs

In partnership with A Rocha Ghana, PDA’s Research Evaluation and Learning Unit is strengthening the capacities of nine (9) partner organizations (NGOs & CBOs) to support their quest to rally communities to combat the exploitation of natural reserves. This activity forms a component of a three-year project, “Strengthen the Roots” (StR), being implemented by A…

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“WE CAN WORK”: PDA’s Drive For Inclusive Development For Youth With Disabilities

We Can Work (WCW) is an 8-year signature intervention spearheaded by Light for the World in collaboration with partner organizations including the Africa Disability Forum (ADF), Crosswise Works (CWW) and country-level disability federations.   This transformative program specifically targets youth with disabilities across 7 countries in East and West Africa: Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia,…

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Tony’s Chocolonely & PDA: Advancing Ethical Cocoa Production Through Data-driven Child Labour Remediation

Tony’s Chocolonely (Tony’s), a Dutch social enterprise, was founded in response to the distressing reality of child labor and modern slavery in cocoa plantations in West Africa. Tony’s unwavering commitment is to ensure that every chocolate bar is 100% slave-free.   As a wholesaler, Tony’s focuses on importing, exporting, and selling chocolate products and raw materials,…

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CASA-TAF & PDA: Increasing Rural Income Generation Opportunities Through Aggregators

Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) is a multi-year programme focused on increasing the economic opportunities for smallholder farmers as well as the commercial viability of agribusinesses. TechnoServe is managing the CASA through the Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) to provide grants and technical assistance to agribusinesses implementing projects under the CASA initiative.  The Inclusive…

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PDA Supports Mastercard Foundation To Monitor Programme Impact In Ghana

From 2022 to 2024, PDA’s team of evaluators and data analysts provided technical support to the Mastercard Foundation in the implementation of the Young Africa Works programme in Ghana, an initiative that is focused on providing economic opportunities and well-being for young people in Ghana and Africa.  Several activities have been completed under this project,…

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PDA’s Financial Inclusion Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa

PDA has a proven track record of partnering with communities and other development organizations to implement large-scale development interventions in promoting ethical and transparent commodity supply chains and communities over the last 21 years.  The team is made up of experienced community facilitators, child labor and protection experts, field trainers, evaluators, and associates with several…

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Cocoa Communities’ Library Project: Cultivating Literacy in Ghana 

Project Overview The Cocoa Communities’ Library Project is a collaborative effort between Participatory Development Associates (PDA) and the Magic Libraries Foundation. It aims to improve the reading literacy of children and build a culture of reading in in ten cocoa growing communities in the Ahafo Ano South East and Ahafo Ano South West districts of…

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Congratulations Alex

With over a decade of experience in research, monitoring, and evaluations, Alexander brings a wealth of expertise in diverse thematic areas including education, agriculture, social protection, financial inclusion, health, and climate change. His professional journey has spanned both local and international contexts, providing him with a nuanced understanding of global development challenges and effective strategies…

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Welcome Annabelle

  Annabelle Yeboah Osei is a highly accomplished professional with over 10 years of experience spanning General Management, Human Resources, and Project Management. Her career trajectory showcases her dedication to achieving excellence across various industries and domains. With a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Australian Institute of Business and a Bachelor of Science…

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PDA condemns the recent child marriage incident involving a traditional priest

Participatory Development Associates has observed with deep concern reports of an incident of child marriage involving Gborbu Wulomo (a Ga traditional priest) and a 12-year-old girl. PDA unreservedly condemns this act and emphasizes that it is an affront to child rights protection in the country. 4 This case is more troubling, particularly due to the…

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Walewale, North East Region, Ghana – Participatory Development Associates (PDA), a leading social research and development consultancy firm, hosted the 7th Annual Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Child Protection in Walewale on Thursday, 30th November 2023. The workshop, which was themed “Tackling Child Marriage in Northern Ghana: A Shift from the Rhetoric to Evidence-based Advocacy”, brought…

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1ST COCOA COMMUNITY ANNUAL READING FESTIVAL HOSTED IN THE ASHANTI REGION

The much-anticipated maiden Cocoa Community Annual Reading Festival has been held in the Ahafo Ano Southeast district of the Ashanti Region. First of its kind in Ghana, the Annual Reading Festival forms part of Participatory Development Associates (PDA), and Magic Library Foundation’s (MLF) Cocoa Communities’ Library Project in Ghana. The project is intended to ignite…

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COCOA COMMUNITIES’ LIBRARY PROJECT: CLUSTER-LEVEL READING COMPETITION

The maiden Cocoa Communities’ Cluster-Level Reading Competition was hosted by PDA on the 11th and 12th of October 2023. The 2-day event saw ten schools within the Ahafo-Ano Southwest and Ahafo-Ano Southeast districts competing for the winning and first runner-up positions in each district to secure spots in the grand Annual Reading Festival slated for December 2023.…

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ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR CBOs AND NGOs

In partnership with A Rocha Ghana, PDA’s Research Evaluation and Learning Unit is strengthening the capacities of nine (9) partner organizations (NGOs & CBOs) to support their quest to rally communities to combat the exploitation of natural reserves. This activity forms a component of a three-year project, “Strengthen the Roots” (StR), being implemented by A…

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YOUNG FEMALE BUSINESSES FOR GROWTH (YOFEB-4G)

Young female artisans face a myriad of challenges in their quest to secure appropriate documentation for their businesses and have access to decent work opportunities within the construction sector. Some women who seek to formalize their businesses are sexually harassed, while others are defrauded or forced to offer monetary, sexual and other favours in order…

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CONCEPT NOTE:  7TH ANNUAL KNOWLEDGE-SHARING WORKSHOP ON CHILD PROTECTION 

Introduction  Since 2017, Participatory Development Associates (PDA) has been hosting its flagship annual Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Child Protection. The event, which has successfully convened relevant stakeholders, state and non-state actors in the child protection ecosystem over the years, has made significant contribution to protecting children in Ghana. Key outcomes from the workshop have been…

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Thirteen young Ghanaian professionals graduate from the inaugural Young Impact Associates Program

  Saturday, July 8, 2023 – Thirteen young Ghanaian professionals, aged between 21 and 35 have graduated from the Young Impact Associates (YIA) Program, a one-year professional development and leadership program in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL). The graduation ceremony was held at the main campus of Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated…

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Past, present and future: multiple motivations for youth’s financial and in-kind support to others in rural Ghana

By: Anne L. Buffardi, Victoria Ampiah &  Nathaniel Amoh Boateng ABSTRACT In the growing literature on youth transitions, comparatively little attention has been paid to the role that young people play as providers, particularly support for people outside of a nuclear family unit. Based on 92 interviews with 44 young adults living in rural Ghana,…

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Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) Programmes – 2022 Quarter 3 Updates

VSLA-CHILD (Ivory Coast) Introduction The VSLA-CHILD project in Ivory Coast is a financial inclusion and child labour remediation scheme that aims to improve the savings culture, provide access to micro-credit, increase the gender awareness and provide a platform for child labour sensitization among cocoa farmers. Update on Activities The 29 VSLA groups formed under the…

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Research, Evaluation and Learning (REL) Unit – 2022 Quarter 3 Updates

The Research, Evaluation and Learning (REL) unit has completed and submitted a number of project reports to clients over the past few months. While the unit has ongoing projects, it continues to scout for new business opportunities. Below is a summary of completed projects, ongoing projects and submitted proposals for new opportunities.   Completed Projects…

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Advocacy & Communications Unit (ACU) – 2022 Quarter 3 Updates

The third quarter of 2022 has been an interesting one for the Advocacy and Communications Unit. Below is an update on our activities:   Facilitation Material for WEE-NORTH Funded by Global Affairs Canada, WEE-NORTH helps women join the workforce as welders, agricultural mechanics, small engine repair technicians and electricians. These opportunities increase productivity, profitability and…

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FINEDEV Endline Evaluation

PDA and Bath SDR are evaluating Global Affairs Canada’s five-year multi-million funding to Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans (SASL) for enterprise growth and development. Dubbed Financial Inclusion for Enterprise Development (FINEDEV), the project was expected to strengthen SASL’s capacity to provide enterprise loans to small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) that are unable to access credit…

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Midline Impact Evaluation of Babator Irrigated Farming Hub, Ghana – AgDevCo

PDA and Bath Social Development Research (Bath SDR) are working on a midline impact assessment for AgDevCo’s Irrigated Farming Hub at Babator in the Bole Bamboi area of the Savannah region. The evaluation combines both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. PDA is leading entirely on the quantitative assessment as well as leading the data collection phase…

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CHILD LABOR REMEDIATION PROJECT – 2022 Quarter 2 Updates

INTRODUCTION During the quarter under review, the Child Labor Remediation team carried out new activities and managed some ongoing activities. Key amongst them were conducting a needs assessment, distribution of educational materials, community sensitization, procurement and distribution of birth certificates, phonics by phone training, and the formation of VSLA groups. Over the past three months,…

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PDA LAUNCHES YOUNG IMPACT ASSOCIATES PROGRAM TO RAISE AFRICA’S FUTURE M&E EXPERTS

  The growing prominence of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in Africa’s development sector stems not only from the need to assure accountability and learning but also from the “political recognition of the utility of evaluation to good governance” (Basheka, 2015). Indeed, M&E is recognized as the main instrument for assessing the extent to which the…

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Participatory Development Associates Collaborating Against Child Abuse In Ghana

Children in Ghana still experience frequent and multiple forms of physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. The 2013 UNICEF Child Protection baseline research report indicates that when children were asked about their experiences of physical discipline, over 57% of respondents (aged 14-17 years) said they were beaten at home “all the time” or “sometimes”, while 34% …

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PDA Child Abuse Tracker

The PDA child abuse tracker continues to record cases of child abuse in Ghana. In 2021, the platform recorded over 80 child abuse cases reported in predominantly-online publications of selected media outlets. The specifics of the reports from Quarter 2, Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 of 2021 can be found here, along with accompanying infographics which can…

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Nyonkopa Child Labour Remediation VSLA

The Nyonkopa Child Labor Remediation Project is a 2-year contractual engagement between Barry-Callebaut (Parent Company of Nyonkopa Cocoa) and Participatory Development Associates as the service provider. The entire remediation intervention was built on PDA’s participatory Child Labor Remediation Module developed through years of implementing child labor remediation in the cocoa sector in multiple countries including…

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VSLA-CHILD (Ivory Coast)

The VSLA-CHILD project in Ivory Coast is also a child labour remediation initiative with the same methodology as the VSLA-CHILD project which is being implemented in Ghana. Under the Ivory Coast Project, 25 groups are expected to be formed. Existing cocoa farmer cooperatives are the main target for the formation of the VSLA groups. Initial…

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VSLA-GALS (Cameroon)

Participatory Development Associates (PDA), in partnership with Beyond Beans and SOCAM 5C, are implementing the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) and Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) [VSLA-GALS] project in 7 selected cocoa growing communities in Cameroon. The seven project communities are Mbele, Ekekom, Bilon, Ekoumdouma, Nkole Ekui, Minkama, Endama. The VSLA-GALS project aims to…

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VSLA-CHILD (Ghana)

The VSLA-CHILD Project is a Beyond Beans-funded child labour remediation initiative that aims to tackle child labour in cocoa producing communities through a community-driven approach. Participatory Development Associates is the lead implementer of this project in 57 cocoa growing communities. The project seeks to increase the access of 2500 farmers to microcredit, improve their savings…

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District Level Needs Assessment for AfriKids in Northern Regions of Ghana.

Afrikids is a human-centred organization with operations in northern Ghana which seeks to build the capacity of local people, institutions and organizations to be independent, and to provide sustainable solutions to keep vulnerable children healthy, safe and in school – presently and in the future. PDA is providing research and learning services through empirical reviews,…

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Formative Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases in Northern Ghana for Sesame Workshop

The Wash Up! Programme was designed by Sesame Workshop in collaboration with World Vision International as part of a broader Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) intervention to teach primary school children and the wider society good practices, and improve knowledge and behaviour changes in water sanitation and hygiene, with the aim of preventing neglected tropical…

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Vulnerability and Exclusion Assessment for UNICEF Ghana and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection

PDA in partnership with Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is conducting a Vulnerability and Exclusion assessment study to assist the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) and UNICEF Ghana to adopt a suitable working definition of vulnerability and exclusion for the Ghanaian context. This will promote a consistent understanding of the terms across state…

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Endline Assessment of Women Economic Empowerment Through Rural Financing in Ghana and DRC Using Qualitative Impact Assessment Protocol (QuIP) Methodology

The PDA REL team and the Bath Social Development Research (Bath SDR) have been working to provide longitudinal evaluation and learning support to Opportunity International UK over the last three years, on a project titled ‘Economic Empowerment of Women through Rural Financing’ in Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The endline evaluation has…

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End of Year Message – MD

Dear Partners and Colleagues,   What a year it has been! Learning to navigate the uncertainties of another COVID year as an organization has been a humbling but fruitful experience. While many other institutions in the development space in Ghana have unfortunately witnessed a decline and have even been forced to shut down, PDA is…

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VSLA PROJECTS – 2022 Updates

UPDATES: VSLA-CHILD PROJECT The VSLA-CHILD Project is in partnership with Beyond Beans and is a child labour remediation initiative that aims to tackle child labour in cocoa-producing communities through a community-driven approach. It also seeks to increase farmers’ access to microcredit, improve their savings culture and income diversity, as well as increase their gender awareness and…

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CHILD LABOR REMEDIATION -2022

  NYONKOPA CHILD LABOR REMEDIATION PROJECT This is a summary report on the activities carried out this quarter. KEY ACTIVITIES Community Sensitization  VSLA  Phonics by Phone Training  Update on Nyonkopa VSLA App Vocation Enrolment and Items Distribution Birth certificate distribution  Community Action Plan  Community Sensitization The team has made community sensitization a very important addition…

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The government and relevant stakeholders have made efforts to reduce the impact of Covid-19 on Ghana’s educational system. However, as with many education systems around the world, Ghana’s education system was not prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic and lacked the resilience needed to adjust to the crisis. This led to disruptions to learning, loss of…

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NAVIGATING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE EXPERIENCES OF FEMALE-LED MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN GHANA

Female-led businesses represent the majority share of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana and operate mainly in the informal sector. Informality is a key characteristic of the Ghanaian economy in general and is significant in areas such as manufacturing, agriculture/agribusiness and services (Mastercard Index for Women Entrepreneurs, 2020). Despite women’s contribution to business and economic growth in Ghana,…

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Evaluating How Root Capital’s Client Businesses Impact Smallholder Livelihoods: Oil Palm In Ghana

This evaluation analyzes the extent to which affiliation with an agriculture business supported by Root Capital’s lending and advisory services—in this case, an oil palm aggregator in Ghana called Serendipalm—improves the wellbeing of smallholder farmers. With insights directly from the business’ supplying producers, the report highlights the impacts of affiliation with Serendipalm on farmer livelihoods,…

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Ghana’s education response during the COVID-19 crisis: EdTech to the rescue?

Children in Ghana (including 9.2 million pre-tertiary and 500,000 tertiary students) are among more than 1.5 billion learners globally whose studies have been impacted by school closures. The Ghanaian Government indefinitely closed public and private schools within days of the country recording its first COVID-19 case on 12th March 2020, ultimately including final-year high school…

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RETHINKING SOCIAL PROTECTION AND SAFETY NETS IN GHANA: WHAT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS TAUGHT US

 By: Alexander Afram The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has taken the entire world by surprise, particularly in this era of enhanced economic, scientific, and technological advances. While the outbreak started in China’s city of Wuhan in late 2019, little did we think that the deadly virus will ravage the entire world so rapidly, to the extent…

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Absorbing the Shocks or Irreversible Damage? The Impact of Covid-19 on Africa’s Political Economy

In Summary In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have adopted lockdowns, virus testing regimes and social distancing measures. African countries have followed suit, mostly with ‘copy and paste’ versions of these actions, resulting in profound social and economic stresses on their people. What is immediately evident is that without creativity, contextualisation and civil participation…

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CMAC/PDA LAUNCH GOVERNMENT SERVICES ACCOUNTABILITY APP (GSAAPP)

CMAC/PDA LAUNCH GOVERNMENT SERVICES ACCOUNTABILITY APP (GSAAPP) On Thursday, February 27, 2020, the Citizen’s Movement against Corruption (CMaC) in partnership with Participatory Development Associates (PDA) launched the Government Services Accountability App (GSAAPP), a mobile application designed to receive feedback on the services of state agencies in order to help improve service delivery of public sector…

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COMMUNIQUE-Protecting the Ghanaian School Child Improving Effective Partnerships between State and Non-state Actors

THIRD ANNUALTHIRD ANNUALKNOWLEDGE SHARING WORKSHOP ON CHILD PROTECTION26th November 2019British Council Auditorium Accra Theme:Protecting the Ghanaian School Child:Improving EffectivePartnerships between State and Non-state Actors The 3rd Annual Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Child Protection was held on the 26th of November 2019 at the British Council Auditorium in Accra. This workshop was in partnership between Participatory…

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Transitions from Primary to Lower Secondary School: A Focus on Equity

Equal access to quality education is crucial for addressing socioeconomic problems of poverty, unemployment and inequality (Reynolds et al., 2014; Browne & Barrett, 1991; UNESCO, 2017) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aptly captures this. SDG goal 4 proposes that by 2030, each country should “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning…

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Formative evaluation of the ‘I Am Aware’ social accountability project in Ghana

Download the executive summary and Final evaluation I Am Aware project CDD-Ghana collects and archives government data on service delivery at the district level. The detailed sector data is provided on the I Am Aware website (Iamawareghana. com). Information products are also created to make the data more accessible and useful. For example, the District League…

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Research, Evaluation, and Learning (REL) – 2022

Community Needs Assessments in Practice It is always important, effective and cost-efficient when you actively engage community members in responding to their own needs. For this reason, PDA prioritises participatory assessments and community level perspectives in intervention designs and implementation. PDA is currently working with some of our key partners across selected cocoa communities in…

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Report on Second Annual Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Child Protection

Executive Summary The Second Annual Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Child Protection was held at the British Council Auditorium in Accra on 27th November 2018, as part of Participatory Development Associates’ (PDA) strategic themes for 2016-2021. The purpose of the workshop was to provide an environment to share and discuss preliminary findings of a draft Report…

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2nd Annual Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Child Protection in Ghana

Last year, Participatory Development Associates (PDA) organized its inaugural Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Child Protection, bringing together about 78 participants including state and non-state actors, to critically engage the existing narratives on child protection and explore avenues for effective collaboration among key stakeholders to improve the child protection system in Ghana. Among others, a key…

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UK Department for International Development IMPACT EVALUATION OF THE SADA MILLENNIUM VILLAGES PROJECT IN NORTHERN GHANA: ENDLINE SUMMARY REPORT

Background to the Millennium Villages project At a UN Summit in September 2000, world leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration, which committed nations to a new global partnership to reduce extreme poverty and address pressing challenges of hunger, gender inequality, illiteracy and disease. The MVP aimed to showcase, ‘…how effective an integrated strategy for health care,…

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INTEGRATED VSLA/GALS

Participatory Development Associates (PDA) is building the economic and social capacities of over 936 cocoa farmers in the Ashanti Region through Village Savings and Loans (VSLA) schemes and Gender Action and Learning Systems (GALS); with generous funding from Nestle Cocoa Plan and in partnership with Cocoanect and Cocoa Merchants Limited. Since its pilot in Niger…

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How to enhance capacity to transform science into policy and practice in the field of food security

A training course targeting young African researchers with PhDsDate: 28 Jan – 1 Feb 2019Where: Nairobi, KenyaThe Agriculture for Food Security 2030 (AgriFoSe2030) programme, a Swedish initiative, will conduct a training course for young African researchers on effective research-to-policy interaction for agricultural development. The course is a collaboration between AgriFoSe2030 and The Gothenburg Center for…

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TRIBUTE FROM PDA

The entire staff of PDA received your sudden demise with shock, and dismay. No one for once, ever thought this could happen at this prime time, but as the saying goes in our local parlance “owuo kuta adeɛ a nkwa ntumi nnye”.Until her death, Deborah worked with PDA as a logistic assistant. She joined the…

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PDA Child Abuse Tracker: an overview

As part of PDA’s objective to advocate for the protection of children in Ghana, the organization has developed an online platform that tracks cases of child abuse published in the newspapers and prominent online portals. The platform monitors progress on abuse cases and advocates for further intervention where necessary. Launched in November 2017, the platform currently…

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Aspirations matter: what young people in Ghana think about work

Aspirations play a vital role in shaping young people’s life choices, particularly when it comes to making decisions about education and jobs. However, youth employment programmes – which seek to provide young people with the skills and opportunities needed to secure employment and achieve higher living standards – rarely take young people’s aspirations into account. This…

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PSS PAID INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME

Are you an intelligent and ambitious tertiary level graduate looking for the opportunity to acquire 3 to 6 months valuable work experience in the world of business? Then join PDA’s Youngest Creative Unit’s PSS internship Programme ELIGIBILITY Highly motivated individual interested in target achievement and developing managerial skills. Completed first degree or HND within the…

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NADMO/GNFS Sensitise Residents In Flood Prone Areas

The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in the Volta region have begun engagements with residents in flood prone communities ahead of the rainy season. The engagements were to promote preventive and safety measures to reduce casualties when the rains set in. Mr Divine Bosson, Regional NADMO Coordinator, said the Organization…

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NGO wants mental health under NHIS

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) into mental health has urged government to move mental health onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to enable such patients to access adequate care. It says free drugs for patients under the mental health programme are generally unavailable at the health centres, and therefore burden patients to pay for them. Mr Suonyir…

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CDD I Am Aware Evaluation

Participatory Development Associates (PDA) is with Oxford Policy Management (OPM) to evaluate a civic accountability program implemented by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) entitled ‘I Am Aware’. The focus of the ‘I Am Aware’ project is to empower citizens to improve their awareness and engagement with service providers to increase their accountability and…

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Africa needs $621bn to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals

The Global Infrastructure Hub, a G20 initiative, has today published two reports that reveal an urgent need for infrastructure investment in 10 Compact with Africa countries, and highlight the reforms required to encourage greater investment. The first of these reports, Global Infrastructure Outlook: Infrastructure Investment Need in the Compact with Africa Countries, reveals that, unless US$621…

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No more direct posting – Health Service Director General announces

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has said it intends to abolish direct posting of health professionals to public health institutions after their graduation.Rather, health personnel should be allowed to search for jobs themselves, apply and attend interviews before accepting postings to health institutions.Speaking at the opening of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) 2018…

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Akufo-Addo removes Charlotte Osei, two deputies from office

President Akufo-Addo has removed the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, Amadu Sulley and Georgina Opoku Amankwaa from office. This comes after a committee set up by the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, pursuant to Article 146(4) of the Constitution, to investigate separate complaints brought against the three persons by Ghanaian…

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Galamsey Activities Move To Bedrooms

In their quest to outwit the anti-galamsey task force (Operation Vanguard) in their operations, illegal miners also called galamsey operators have adopted a dangerous method of acquiring gold illegally. It has emerged that the Chinese galamseyers and their Ghanaian counterparts now bring the black soil (the gold bearing ore) from the galamsey sites into the communities…

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RUFORUM Young African Entrepreneurs Competition (RUYAEC) 2018 Open Awards Competition  

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is a network of 85 Universities in 35 African countries is pleased to announce the 2018 RUFORUM Young African Entrepreneurs Competition (RUYAEC). The 2018 RUFORUM Young African Entrepreneurs Competition (RUYAEC) whose overall purpose is to catalyse entrepreneurship through promotion of business innovation and provision of…

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Cocoa prices tumble

Prices of cocoa on the international market have begun to tumble due to investors expectations of an imminent increase in production from top growing countries, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.Côte d’Ivoire, which is the world’s largest producer, is projecting a production of about 1.9 million tonnes, while Ghana is hopeful of meeting its 850,000 tonnes target…

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Commercial drivers increase fares by 10%

Road Transport Operators have announced a 10% increase in transport fares across all categories of services, effective today [Monday]. The increase in fares comes after an agreement between the operators and other stakeholders in the transport sector including the government.They also indicated that import taxes and increase in prices of spare parts among others influenced the…

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Registration for Ghana Card begins today

After multiple postponements, the registration and instant issuance for the national identity card, also known as the Ghana Card, is set to begin at 7 am today [Monday].The project is among initiatives being undertaken by the government to formalise the economy.According to the National Identification Authority, former heads of state, journalists and security officials will…

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GhanaThink leads discussion on solving unemployment in Upper East

Some unemployed youth in the Upper East region have networking and skills acquisition training from a Social Enterprise  (ThinkGhana) through its job camp program.The event which was held at the Bolgatanga Catholic social centre brought together over 30 youth, particularly unemployed graduates.The resource persons included Roger Laari, CEO of MOAB Properties, Akannah Saeed, an architect…

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GIZ Ghana is recruiting

GIZ Ghana is expanding its work on #eSkills4Girls, a project that seeks to increase the participation on Ghanaian women in technology. GIZ Ghana is expanding its work on #eSkills4Girls, a project that seeks to increase the participation on Ghanaian women in technology. They’re currently recruiting:1. Technical Advisor for ICT/Training 2. Technical Advisor for Ideas Competitions/Campaigning Main project activities will…

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Amnesty Int’l takes on UEW over blatant human right abusesAmnesty Int’l takes on UEW over blatant human right abuses

HUMAN RIGHTS Advocacy Group, Amnesty International, Ghana has raised red flags over alleged human right abuses against some staff members of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) by the school authorities.According to the group, the school authorities have adopted victimisation, wrongful dismissal, forceful eviction and intimidation as a mode of punishment for wrongdoing though most…

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Adopt A Bin Campaign Launched

The OneGhana Movement, in partnership with Citi FM, Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Jekora Ventures and the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA), has launched its flagship environmental project dubbed, the RightWay Initiative-Adopt A Bin Campaign.’ OneGhana Movement is a thought leadership and social action Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that encourages citizens to discharge their civic responsibilities.…

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KMA Launches Dustbin Project

VIP Transport Ltd officials making the presentation to the Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) will soon launch a dustbin project as part of efforts to manage waste effectively and beautify Kumasi. The Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi, who made the announcement, said thousands of dustbins would be placed at strategic…

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Sabre Trust’s Fast Track Transformational Teacher Training (FTTT) Programme wins prestigious UNESCO Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Prize

Participatory Development Associates (PDA) Ltd wishes to congratulate Sabre Trust and GES and their partners for the recognition given to the Fast-Track Transformational Teacher Training (FTTT) programme they have been implementing in Ghana. They were awarded the UNESCO Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Prize for Outstanding Practice and Performance in Enhancing the Effectiveness of Teachers in…

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International short course on Coastal Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Coastal Areas

The Centre for Coastal Management (CCM) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), and its partner Nature Today, a non for profit organisation, is offering an instructor-Led short course on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation from September 17th -21st, 2018. Participants from around the world would provide their own funding to attend the 5-day training…

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Pitch AgriHack Seeks to Promote Greater Engagement of Young Women

CTA has launched ‘Pitch AgriHack 2018’ a competition to support young agricultural entrepreneurs (agripreneurs) build viable businesses and boost innovation for a more sustainable agricultural sector. Winning innovations will be awarded up to €15,000, as well as mentoring and networking opportunities. The theme for this year’s competition is “Women entrepreneurs innovate for agricultural transformation in…

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Tweneboah Koduah SHS Head interdicted over sexual misconduct claims

The Ashanti Regional Education Directorate has interdicted the headmaster of the Tweneboah Koduah Senior High School, Francis Badu Agyare, following allegations of sexual misconduct involving three female students. The directive follows a petition by some teachers of the school to the Kumawu Traditional Council about his conduct. The teachers had earlier threatened a sit-down strike…

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Police, others ordered to immediately enforce ‘action plan’ to deal with road accidents

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has approved an action plan compiled by the ministers of Interior, Transport and Roads to deal with the upsurge of road accidents in the country, a release from the Information Ministry has said. The three-pronged approach involves Education, Enforcement and Engineering, said the release issued in Accra on Monday,…

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Ghana ‘galamsey kids’: Children left behind by Chinese miners

This BBC Pidgin documentary about Chinese miners who fathered children with local women while working and living in Ghana cracks open a problem that has escaped the illegal mining discourse. Since 2017 when anti-galamsey campaign started with force by President Akufo-Addo, the Chinese illegal miners fled, leaving their racially-mixed children behind. But all this while,…

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Scientists attribute low crop yields in Ghana to substandard fertilizers

Scientists are casting doubts on the efficacy of fertilizers used by Ghanaian farmers cross the country as research points to consistent low yields despite fertilizer application. This was revealed at a dissemination workshop on research findings on Ghana’s Soil Fertility Management (GSFM) and Fertilizer Subsidy Programme (FSP) in Accra. The scientists presented a report on…

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MSc and PhD Scholarships

Applications are invited for MSc and PhD Scholarships by the Mobility for plant genomics scholars to accelerate climate-smart adaptation options and food security in Africa / GENES. GENES is funded by the Intra-Africa Program of the Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission. The consortium intends to: 1. Produce for Africa…

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VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT- Senior Officer, Programs and Research- AWARD

About AWARD African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) is working towards more inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity for Africa. AWARD invests in African women scientists, research institutions, and the agribusiness sector by supporting the development and upscaling of agricultural innovations with the potential to bridge the gender gap in African agriculture. Four initiatives form the…

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Africa Misses Out on Taiwan’s Development Aid Due to ‘One China’ Policy

Taiwan says it regrets that the “one China” policy insisted on by Beijing prevents it from providing much needed development aid to most countries in Africa. Taiwan was in a relatively good diplomatic position in Africa several years ago. Taiwan’s Deputy Secretary-General for International Cooperation and Development, Pai-po Lee, says this made it possible for…

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Invitation to the African Youth Agripreneur Forum (AYAF) and Agri-Pitch Competition: “Technologies and Innovations for Youth in Agribusiness”

The African Development Bank (AfDB), together with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, is organizing the 2nd edition of African Youth Agripreneur Forum (AYAF) and Agri-Pitch Competition to serve as a platform for bringing together agripreneurs from across Africa and scaling up the scope and impact of their activities. The Forum is expected to attract over…

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SDG Kids

SDG Kids is a project which focuses on promoting the awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals among children and young people. The project seeks to use child centred participatory methodologies and interactive activities that help build children’s capacity in taking actions to support the attainment of the SDGs by 2030.  The goal of the SDG Kids…

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6TH INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE & POPULATION CONFERENCE ON AFRICA [CCPOP-GHANA2018]

THE REGIONAL INSTITUTE FOR POPULATION STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, ACCRA Call for Abstracts for the6th International Climate Change and Population Conference on Africa (CCPOP-Ghana2018) under the Theme “The Future We Do Not want”  Date: 23rd – 25th July, 2018 Venue: Accra, GHANA   Background Climatic hazards are increasingly becoming common features of society globally…

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African Changemakers Fellowship Program

African Changemakers Fellowship (#ACFellowship) Program selects impressive African visionaries between ages 25-40years to train and empower them to change their communities positively across Africa and beyond. These committed changemakers know best how to transform businesses and their communities’ social issues–we make it possible here. African Changemakers Fellowship Program continues to develop African leadership and entrepreneurial…

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Ejisuman SHS scandal: Eight teachers guilty of ‘sexual harassment’ – Report

The special committee investigating allegations of sexual misconduct against some teachers at the Ejisuman Senior High School has found eight of them guilty of inappropriate sexual advances on the students. The special committee was set up by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to investigate the allegations of sexual misconduct against some teachers at the Ashanti…

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Enforce sanitation bye-laws to ensure cleaner Accra – Palmer-Buckle

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Charles Palmer-Buckle, has attributed the insanitary conditions in the city to the sense of indiscipline, calling on city authorities to enforce sanitation laws and put in place proactive measures to address the menace. According to him, it behooves on city authorities to enforce sanitation laws, educate citizens and provide the…

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Entrepreneur: ‘Anyone Can Play a Role’ in African Innovation

AUSTIN, TEXAS  While working for a big consulting firm in Lagos, Nigeria, Afua Osei repeatedly encountered women who wanted to advance professionally but didn’t know how. They needed guidance and mentoring. So, Osei and her colleague Yasmin Belo-Osagie started She Leads Africa, a digital media company offering advice, information, training and networking opportunities to help…

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Authority warns

The Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) has warned of an imminent earthquake in the country following the tremors that have been occurring in recent times. According to the GGSA, signs picked up after earth tremors hit parts of Accra on March 24, 2018 showed that the fault lines were active, “which means that an earthquake…

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KMA decongestion team ‘fights’ hawkers on pavements

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), is determined to sustain the exercise to rid the streets of petty traders in its decongestion exercise. According to the KMA, measures have been instituted to ensure traders comply with directives under the decongestion exercise. Graphic Online’s Kumasi photographer, Emmanuel Baah on Monday captured the KMA taskforce struggling with one…

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Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire sign ‘Abidjan Declaration’ on cocoa

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have resolved to address the challenges of the cocoa sector, within the framework of the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement which links the two countries, by signing the “Abidjan Declaration.” With the two countries responsible for 60% of the world’s cocoa output, fluctuations of cocoa prices on the international market,…

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“Thank you Mr President” – Teacher trainees honour President Akufo-Addo

The Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG) has expressed its heartfelt appreciation to the President of the Republic, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for fulfilling his promise to restore their allowances if elected into office. The allowance of the teacher trainees was cancelled by the previous administration, citing challenges with the economy. At a colourful…

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Earth tremors shake Weija, Gbawe, Sampa Valley, Anyaa

Some parts of the Greater Accra Region experienced earth tremors on Saturday dawn and afternoon. Residents of Weija-Broadcasting, Sampa Valley, SCC, West Hills Mall area, Gbawe, Anyaa, amongst others, reported experiencing the first tremor while they slept at dawn. Two other tremors followed in the afternoon.Steve, a resident at Weija-Broadcasting told ClassFMonline that he first…

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MWALIMU NYERERE AFRICAN UNION SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME

The Mwalimu Nyerere African Union Scholarship Scheme was launched in 2007 with the aim of contributing to the production and retention of high caliber African human capital for sustainable development of the continent in critical development areas, while promoting regional integration through intra-Africa mobility of students. The Scholarship Scheme is intended to enable young Africans…

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Mugabe’s bare-knuckled challenge to Mnangagwa’s legitimacy

It was, for the most part, an exercise in bitter retrospection. Zimbabwe’s former President Robert Mugabe spent much of his first press conference since being ousted reflecting on the illegality of last November’s “coup d’etat,” and on the personal sense of betrayal that clearly still preoccupies the 94-year-old. But while some Zimbabweans, and historians, may…

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South Africa slams Australia visa plan for white farmers

South Africa has criticised an Australian government minister for suggesting that white South African farmers should get special visas so they can flee “horrific circumstances” in the country. Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who oversees immigration and has drawn international criticism for heading a tough crackdown on asylum-seekers from Asia and the Middle East,…

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In defense of Ghana Beyond Aid

Lao Tzu once said, “Knowing others is intelligence. Knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.” This piece has become necessary because of the ongoing debate about the slogan ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’. Whilst those on the side of the government feel it is visionary, opponents of the government feel…

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Don’t sabotage ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ agenda – Bawumia tells Chief Directors

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, has urged the Chief Directors of the various Ministries to support the government’s ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ Agenda. He noted that the government’s quest to build an economy independent of foreign aid and support will greatly rely on the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MMDAs. Speaking at a dialogue session with…

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‘Incorporate all surface-mining operations into MMIP to address all mining-related problems’

Mrs. Hanna Owusu-Koranteng, Associate Executive Director of Wacam-a civil society organiSation, has advocated review of the Multisectoral Mining Integrated Project (MMIP) for it to be holistic and incorporate all surface-mining operations so as to ensure effectively dealing with all mining-related problems. The MMIP is a five-year government policy instrument designed to tackle the menace of…

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Ensuring income security for cocoa farmers in Ghana – the case of Cocoa Abrabopa Pension Scheme Introduction

Introduction Cocoa Abrabopa Association (CAA) is one of the leading farmer-based organizations in Ghana that has been established to promote the socio-economic well-being of smallholder cocoa farmers. The association was established in partnership with African Tiger Holding Ltd (ATHL) to sponsor the establishment of a contributory pension scheme within the framework of the National Pensions…

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Ghana’s Climate Financing Architecture: Using Domestic Resource Mobilisation As A Sustainable Approach

Ghana intends to mobilise nearly US$ 22.6 billion investment from both domestic and international public and private sources towards the implementation of her Nationally Determined Contributions (Gh-NDCs) commitments. US$ 6.3 billion domestically (28.3% of total investment) is to be mobilized nationally whereas the US$ 16 billion is expected from international support. However Ghana’s ability to…

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PDA Support Services – Graduate Internship

As part of delivering on PDA’s Strategic Theme 2: “Youth empowerment to generate positive development in their communities”, its youngest creative business support unit (PDA Support Services) is commencing a paid graduate internship programme in April 2018. The aim of the graduate internship is to support tertiary level recent graduates to gain; i. further skills development ii. hands-on…

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KAIPTC’s Women Peace and Security Institute calls for consciousness on gender progress

Accra, March 8th, 2018: International Women’s Day is a celebration of the economic, political, social and cultural achievements of women across the globe and a call-to-action to progression towards gender parity all over the world. The theme for the celebration this year is #PressforProgress. The Women Peace and Security Institute wants to use this day…

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Solving Water and Sanitation challenges in Africa is key to socio-economic development

Socio-economic growth and evolution in Africa cannot be overemphasized as the continent moves into the future. Africa has over the last decade become one of the fastest growing and attractive regions in the world, with a $1.96 trillion economy growing at about 6 percent. Yet there are also undeniably daunting challenges facing the continent. These…

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International Women’s Day: Rural and Urban Women Matter and Their Active Participation is Crucial in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

As we join the rest of the world to Press for Progress of Women on the commemoration of the 2018 International Women’s Day, PDA Ghana and its Associates do not only wish women well, but encourage more men to rise up to the occasion of empowering their girls whiles teaching their boys to appreciate the…

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My eyes still remember; Using Media as a tool for Biodiversity Conservation in Ghana

Africa’s rainforests are classified as part of the most important biodiversity areas in the world But these forests are under severe threats from increasing population through logging, forest fragmentation, forest conversion into plantations, and mining activities. Africa’s forest cover loss has been estimated at about 53 million hectares, accounting for about 56% of the global…

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Ghanaians support election of MMDCEs – Afrobarometer report

Over 69 per of Ghanaians supports the election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), the 2017 edition of the Afrobarometer report has revealed. The report, launched on Tuesday in Accra, revealed that support for elected rather than appointed MMDCEs was strong across the demographic groups, major political parties and regions. However, regional analysis…

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CPP backs elections of MMDCEs

The Convention Peoples Party (CPP) supports the idea of electing Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Ghana. Professor Edmund Nminyem Delle, CPP National Chairman said the election of MMDCEs would go a long way to promote transparency and accountability at the grassroots level. He said the idea of making the MMDCEs office electable…

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Can mining and agriculture go together?

The interaction between artisanal (small-scale) mining and agriculture in Africa still needs to be carefully considered by policymakers to ensure that people’s livelihoods and the country’s export revenues aren’t threatened. It’s also important that the relationship between the two sectors is optimised to mutual benefit.Mining occurs in the same geographic areas as agriculture. It competes…

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JOB VACANCY: Plant Physiologist

Job Summary: ICBA is seeking a dynamic and motivated biological scientist for the position of Plant Physiologist. Candidates are sought with a demonstrated ability and R&D experience in plant physiology. The ideal candidate will have a background including studies of plant reactions to physical and biological stressors. The Plant Physiologist will work closely with ICBA…

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JOB VACANCY: Senior Plant Breeder

ICBA is seeking a dynamic and motivated senior scientist for the position of Plant Breeder. The successful candidate will manage all components of ICBA’s plant breeding programs, including management of existing germplasm, acquisition of new germplasm, development of elite breeding lines and hybrids of salt-tolerant crops intended for marginal environments. Candidates are sought with proven…

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What Atuguba didn’t say

In academic circles, all research is scientifically obtained – not because they are the outcome of work done in a physics, chemistry or biology science lab. They are scientific because they are the result of empiricism, governed by strict rules of conduct. The rules are such that any other researcher using the same hypotheses, sampling…

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Lessons of February 24, 1966, Coup – Importance of loyal opposition in governance

24th of February 2018   Fifty-two years ago the government of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), under the leadership of the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, was overthrown and proscribed. The CPP consolidated its rule by winning, on the trot, three successive democratic elections between 1951 and 1956 organised under the watch of Her Majesty’s Government of…

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Using Students Loan Trust Fund To Improve Access To Tertiary Educ In Ghana

The benefits of higher education to the individual, the family, the community and the State are well documented. For the individual, higher education bestows social status, access to employment and higher earnings. Many studies have established the link between higher education and better quality of life, with university graduates recording greater life expectancy than their…

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CPI ranking influenced by corruption claims before my gov’t – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Akufo-Addo has said Ghana’s poor ranking on the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) was “largely” influenced by corruption claims in the past regime. He said the Transparency International’s 2017 CPI, which shows a sharp drop in the performance from 2016, is an indication of the “enormity of the task ahead.” Ghana has been…

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Ghana falls three places in Corruption Perception Index; scores lowest since 2012

Ghana receives its lowest corruption perception score in four years, making President Akufo-Addo’s one year in office the worst since 2012, according to the latest Global Corruption Perception Index. The latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released Wednesday evening by the local chapter of Transparency International, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), scored Ghana 40 out of…

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Implementing ECOWAS integration agenda for Ghana’s development: A case for a separate Ministry of Regional Integration

Regionalism is regarded as crucial to the development of Ghana’s economy. A small state like Ghana with potential for rapid development needs the cooperation and integration with her sub-regional West African countries within the framework of ECOWAS. As it would be difficult to establish viable enterprises to serve the Ghana market only, regionalism is readily…

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‘Ghana needs transformational leaders who can translate words into action’ Education-President

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said Ghana needs transformational leaders who can translate words into action, as the country strives to join the developed economies. He said the Government could not make every citizen rich but with the political will it could create the environment for equal opportunities for all, hence the Free Senior High…

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#Homegrown

  On Monday, February 19, 2018 when this column will be published, the Petroleum Commission (PC), the regulator of the upstream industry and Ghana’s lucrative petroleum resources will host a meeting in Accra themed ‘Local Content Procurement Conference.’ There are more than 500 companies including joint ventures registered with the PC, along with International Oil…

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Togo: Akufo-Addo mediates first-ever formal dialogue between Gnassingbé and opposition

President Akufo-Addo will Monday morning mediate the political impasse between the Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé and the opposition coalition. The dialogue is part of a six-month-long attempt to end the series of protests that have claimed at least sixteen lives. The meeting today is expected to chart a credible way forward on the political future…

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Nigeria: Uproar As Senate Reverses Election Sequence of 2019

Abuja — Intrigues ahead of next year’s general election took a fresh twist, yesterday, with the Senate’s approval of a new sequence for the polls. The schedule released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed presidential and National Assembly elections for Saturday, February 16, 2019, while governorship and state Assembly elections come up…

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Turning promises into reality: – Ambitious action needed to secure the future of Ghana’s fisheries

In November 2013, Ghana received a yellow card from the European Union (EU) for failing to fulfil its international obligations to combat illegal fishing. The warning prompted new policies and laws, a plan of action to eradicate illegal fishing and reforms addressing management failures in Ghana’s fisheries. The yellow card was lifted in October 2015…

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Nuclear Meltdown

It has taken a while to establish the trend but in the silver jubilee year of the 4th Republic, many roads now lead, thankfully, to court.The Citizen Ghana Movement (CGM) secured a ruling from the Human Rights Court on Friday, February 9th 2018, compelling the Electoral Commission (EC) to insist on the constitutionally mandated requirement…

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Ghana retires @60

Ghana is now 60 and attained its own retirement age on March 6, 2017. She would have received a letter indicating she was to retire about six months ago and would have gone through Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) processes to begin the working out of Ghana’s Pension. We are by this assuming…

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COTVET promotes gender parity

The Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), in partnership with Uniterra World University Service of Canada (WUSC), is promoting gender parity in male dominated trade areas in Ghana. Uniterra (WUSC) is a leading Canadian International Cooperation Programme that improves the socio-economic conditions of people in 14 countries in Africa, Asia and the…

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Communiqué On The Right To Information Bill

We, participants at the Multi-stakeholder Anti-Corruption Strategic Meeting on the Right to Information (RTI) organised in Accra by the Right to Information (RTI) Coalition and the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) Consortium, have observed with disappointment the continuing failure of Government to submit to Parliament and ensure passage of the Right to Information (“RTI”) Bill, despite…

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Multitasking

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is fluent in 2 European languages; English and French. A useful skill, given that Ghana is surrounded by Francophone countries on 3 sides (La Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Burkina Faso) and faced on its coastline, by the unforgiving Atlantic sea. We are also a nation, much divided by inherent and deliberate…

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Rural women’s land right in Ghana; Reflecting on the Kilimanjaro Initiative Campaign

  Rural women farmers till the lands and plant seeds to feed nations. They ensure food security for their communities and build climate resilience. However when it comes to owning land, accessing agricultural inputs, financing and technologies for climate resilience, they are left far behind men. In Ghana, although a number of international conventions, protocols…

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Enhancing the developmental capacity of Ghana’s political parties

The critical conversation about “Enhancing the developmental capacity of Ghana’s political parties”, which is long overdue, was introduced at a roundtable discussion by the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG). It is a matter that should have been part of the considerations in the transition from dictatorship to democracy ahead of the promulgation and operation of…

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Agriculture policies should be responsive to gender — NETRIGHT

Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT), an NGO, has underscored the need for policies in the agriculture sector to be responsive to gender. To achieve gender equality in the agricultural sector, stakeholders needed to ensure that, agriculture policy interventions benefitted both women and men equally, it stated.According to the organisation, women who formed the…

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Strong Men, Weak Institutions

Domelevo, Amidu and Despite. Three strong men navigating weak institutions. The first is an Auditor General seeking prosecutorial power to reinvigorate the state purse; the second is a Special Prosecutor with a reputation for integrity; and the third is a gender award winning businessman putting some of his fortune into better health with a children’s…

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3,000 unemployed youth to undergo digital marketing entrepreneurship training

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has launched the Online/Digital Marketing Entrepreneurship programme for 3,000 unemployed youth to undergo a 3 month all-expense paid training programme. The training is aimed at equipping the youth with skills to start-up their own businesses thereby reducing the unemployment canker amongst the youth in the country. Launching the programme on…

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Are Grants for Losers?

Mark Ritchie, former Minnesota Secretary of State and former president of the Minneapolis-based Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, sent Felix an email about a very interesting interview with Kevin Watkins, the CEO of Save the Children Fund (UK). The interview and commentary was by Russell Hargrave in devex: “Save the Children CEO on a…

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Let us pray, for what?

The meeting in the Botsio Auditorium at the Alisa Hotel started 12 minutes after the advertised time, with a prayer. I was captivated. Said invocation was mercifully short. Ghana is a secular country and I usually have no patience for public displays of virtuosity. Praying before public events is usually a signal for imminent mediocrity…

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