Jim Drummond's Visit

Department for International Development (DFID) Director for West and Central Africa, Jim Drummond, was in Ghana for a two-day visit. The visit was to assess development challenges in northern Ghana, and see how programmes supported by the UK Government through DFID were contributing to poverty reduction. These programmes include support for education and civil society through a Non-Governmental Organisation, the Strengthening Transparency, Accountability and Responsiveness in Ghana (STAR-Ghana).

Some of the projects he visited included a self-help group in the Tolon District in the Northern Region which was initiated by Basic Needs, a STAR-Ghana grantee. The group provides mental health care services by helping people with mental illness and epilepsy to live and work comfortably in their communities. They ensure both the patients and their care givers enjoy their civil and economic rights. The group was very appreciative of the support from Basic Needs in creating awareness about illness, stressing it had helped to reduce stigmatization and abuse.

In Kumbungu, he visited a DFID-supported School for Life session where 25 children aged 8-14 were learning to read and write in their local language. The innovative programme runs on a model where out-of-school children are given functional literacy in their mother tongue for nine months after which they are admitted into the formal school system. Mr Drummond was glad to see the commitment of the community towards education.

Another important part of his visit was the opportunity to meet the management of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) and key development practitioners in the north to discuss SADA’s agenda: to promote growth and development in northern Ghana (an area suffering far higher rates of poverty compared to the south of Ghana).

In Accra, he met with senior government officials where they discussed, among other issues, current and future support programmes to the Government of Ghana.