United States Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, has inaugurated a new USAID initiative titled “Promoting Transparency and Accountability in Education” at the Northern Network for Education Development (NNED) headquarters in Tamale, Ghana. The launch took place on April 1, 2016. During the event, Ambassador Jackson and NNED Executive Committee Chair Rosemond Kumah formalized a cooperative agreement for the project, which is valued at $648,000 over an 18-month period.
The USAID activity aims to enhance accountability within the educational sector by focusing efforts on 200 schools across 25 districts in northern Ghana. The project will be executed by NNED, a non-governmental organization in Ghana that advocates for improved quality and access to education through resource mobilization and stakeholder collaboration.
Ambassador Jackson emphasized the importance of NNED's role: “NNED is a critical partner for us in our efforts here in the north,” he stated during his address at the launch. He expressed confidence that with NNED’s extensive networks and experience, significant progress could be made towards ensuring education reaches even the most remote villages.
USAID/Ghana's broader education program is dedicated to providing children with essential reading skills during their early primary school years. Its initiatives aim to improve reading instruction quality, strengthen educational management systems, enhance accountability between parents and schools, and involve communities more deeply in supporting student and teacher performance.
USAID serves as the primary U.S. government agency tasked with combating extreme global poverty while fostering resilient democratic societies. For over five decades, it has supported various sectors in Ghana including food security, healthcare improvement, education access enhancement, and local governance strengthening.