NCCE Eastern Regional Director schooled district directors on UNFPA project implementation

The Eastern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ms. Ophelia Nana Yaa Ankrah, has called on District Directors across the region to ensure the effective implementation of a UNFPA-funded project in six districts, stressing that it must translate into real impact for beneficiary communities.

The directive was issued during a workshop orgaised by the Regional Office to empower district directors of the NCCE in the Eastern Region, which focused on scaling up public education on adolescent reproductive health, gender equality, and the prevention of gender-based violence under the UNFPA partnership programme.

The project “Empowering the Community on adolescent health, gender equality, and Preventing Gender-Based Violence " is being supported by Global Affairs Canada, UNFPA, and UNICEF.

The project also seeks to empower adolescent girls with accurate information and skills to make informed decisions about health and rights, promote gender equality, and strengthen service delivery and policy implementation through collaboration with local authorities, traditional leaders, and civil society.

Addressing the directors, Ms. Ankrah emphasized that the project’s success will be measured not by the number of engagements held, but by the tangible change in the lives of young people and families in the target districts.

The UNFPA-funded initiative is currently being rolled out in six districts in the Eastern Region, including Yilo Krobo, Kwahu West, Birim North, Upper Manya Krobo, New Juaben North and Fanteakwa North.

The NCCE Eastern Regional Director urged district directors to move beyond routine sensitization and ensure the project reaches identifiable groups of adolescents, parents, and community leaders.

Ms. Ankrah stressed that district directors must monitor outcomes closely and collaborate with the Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, and local authorities to ensure the project reduces adolescent pregnancy rates and strengthens protection for girls.

The directors were also schooled on the objectives, expected outcomes, implementation strategies, and administrative guidelines for the successful execution of the project activities.

Ms. Ankrah also emphasizes the need for all NCCE operational offices in the region to align their engagements with the set objectives.

She also tasked the district directors to work collaboratively to ensure the smooth implementation of planned engagements and to achieve the intended impact within the beneficiary communities.

The Regional Director further highlighted the importance of proper utilization of funds and advised them to ensure that all project expenditures strictly conform to approved budget lines and financial regulations to promote accountability, transparency, and efficient resource management.

Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Executive Director of Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult, who spoke on “engaging the media for effective visibility during project implementation,” tasks district directors to build partnerships with local media.

He emphasized the need to narrow the gap between NCCE and media personnel because the two institutions need each other for enhanced public education; the media should not be an afterthought in your project implementation.

“If you want your project to reach the global community, then you must carry the media along in the project implementation for effective projection through enhanced coverage,” Mr. Ameyibor stated.

“As civic educators, you need the media to enhance your work and reach out to a larger community across multiple geographical locations. The media are your louder mouthpiece to help you transmit your information to the public, policymakers, sponsors, and partners and get feedback from your operational constituents,” the CDA Consult Executive Director stated.

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