Plan International Ghana Launches $9.4 Million CAD Initiative to Boost Women’s Rights Teams

Introduction

In a significant move to advance gender equality and human rights, Plan International Ghana has announced the launch of the Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership Ghana Project. This major initiative, funded with 9.4 million Canadian dollars (CAD) by Global Affairs Canada and Plan International Canada, is designed to directly strengthen the capacity and impact of women’s rights organizations (WROs), youth-led groups, and girls’ human rights defenders throughout Ghana. Operating from March 2025 through December 2031, the six-year project will be implemented nationwide, across all 16 administrative regions. Its core mission is to address critical gaps in funding and support for grassroots movements driving legal, policy, and social change for women and girls.

This initiative arrives at a pivotal time. Despite progress, Ghana faces persistent challenges in gender parity, as reflected in its international rankings. The project aims to channel resources directly to the organizations on the front lines of this struggle, providing not just financial grants but also essential capacity-building and strategic support to amplify their voices and effectiveness.

Key Points

Background: The Context for Women’s Rights in Ghana

Ghana’s Development and Gender Rankings

To understand the project’s urgency, one must examine the data. As highlighted by Project Manager Theodora Asare during a media training event in Koforidua, Ghana’s development indicators reveal a gender gap. In 2022, Ghana ranked 130 out of 189 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI). More starkly, on the Gender Development Index (GDI)—which measures disparities in HDI achievements between men and women—Ghana ranked 134 out of 189. This gap underscores the systemic barriers that prevent women and girls from fully participating in and benefiting from the country’s development.

Persistent Challenges Faced by Women and Girls

The project targets deeply entrenched issues:

• Harmful Traditional Practices & Norms: Pervasive cultural norms and practices that discriminate against women and girls, limiting their agency and life choices.
• Limited Access to Education: Disparities in educational enrollment, retention, and completion rates, particularly at secondary and tertiary levels and in STEM fields.
• Restricted Economic Opportunities: Barriers to formal employment, land ownership, credit, and entrepreneurship, leading to high rates of economic dependency.
• Underrepresentation in Leadership: Significant underrepresentation of women in political decision-making, public administration, corporate boards, and traditional leadership structures.

The Critical Role of Women’s Rights Movements

Despite these challenges, Ghana has a vibrant history of women’s rights advocacy. These movements have been instrumental in achieving landmark legal and policy victories. Notable successes include:

• The Domestic Violence Act (Act 732) of 2007: A comprehensive law providing protection and remedies for victims of domestic violence.
• Ratification of the Maputo Protocol (2003): Ghana became a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, a groundbreaking regional treaty guaranteeing comprehensive rights to women.
• The Affirmative Action Bill: A long-advocated legislative effort aimed at achieving a minimum threshold of women’s representation in public and political life.

However, as Ms. Asare noted, a stark global reality hampers this work: only about 1% of all official development assistance (ODA) is allocated directly to women’s rights organizations. This chronic underfunding cripples the ability of local groups to sustain operations, scale impact, and respond dynamically to community needs. The Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership Project is a direct response to this funding gap.

Analysis: Project Design and Strategic Importance

Project Structure and Grant Mechanisms

The project’s design is intentionally flexible to meet diverse organizational needs:

• Multi-Year Core Institutional Grants: Provides predictable, flexible funding for general organizational operations, staff salaries, and strategic planning. This is crucial for building sustainable institutions rather than short-term project cycles.
• Rapid-Response Grants: Offers agile funding to address sudden crises, opportunities, or urgent advocacy needs, such as responding to a spike in gender-based violence or a critical legislative window.
• Influencing Grants: Targets specific, time-bound advocacy campaigns aimed at policy change, law reform, or shifting public opinion on a particular issue.

Why Direct Funding to Local Organizations Matters

The model of channeling funds directly to local and national WROs—rather than through large international intermediaries—is a recognized best practice in development aid. It ensures:

• Contextual Relevance: Grassroots organizations have an intrinsic understanding of local cultural nuances, power dynamics, and community needs.
• Ownership and Agency: It empowers local actors to define their own priorities and strategies, moving away from donor-driven agendas.
• Efficiency and Reach: Reduces administrative overhead and ensures more resources reach the community level where change happens.
• Movement Building: Strengthens the collective power of the women’s rights movement by supporting a diverse ecosystem of organizations working on different issues (e.g., economic justice, ending violence, political participation).

Alignment with National and Global Goals

The project’s objectives are closely aligned with:

• Ghana’s National Development Policies: Including the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA) and national gender policies, which prioritize women’s empowerment.
• Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy: Which commits to placing gender equality at the center of all development cooperation and funding women’s rights organizations.
• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):strong> Particularly SDG 5 (Gender Equality), but also intersecting goals like SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 3 (Good Health), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).