CAMFED Ghana was launched in 1998 to tackle girls' exclusion from education.
CAMFED Ghana launched in 1998, working in the Northern Region, and by 2021 was operating in 12 regions and 38 districts. In the communities where we work, chronic poverty excludes many girls from education, with less than a quarter of children in the poorest households attending lower secondary school. This persistent poverty pushes vulnerable girls into unsafe work or child marriage.
CAMFED Ghana works to support the most marginalized girls to finish secondary school, and through our transition programs help them into post school employment or further education and training.
In Ghana, there continues to be a big gap between urban and rural, rich and poor. And while marginalized girls in poor rural communities are the first to be excluded, our future hinges on their success. We welcome the government prioritizing girls’ education, and are working with communities, schools and government authorities to build networks and relationships around the most vulnerable girls and young women– so that they get the targeted support they need to access school, learn, thrive and then lead the way for others.
Sally Ofori Yeboah, National Director, CAMFED Ghana
“In Ghana the major challenges to girls’ education are poverty and teenage pregnancy. Many girls drop out of school and lose their confidence because of these issues. As the CAMFED Association Chairperson in Ghana, I conduct advocacy and sensitization in communities to help more girls stay in school.
With my team at CAMFED Ghana, we provide bursary support for children in low income families and campaign against child marriage.
“I believe that creating independent and self-motivated women begins with giving quality education to girls.
These educated women will go on to create long-lasting, positive change in their communities and the wider world.”
Karima Mohammed, CAMFED Association Chairperson, Ghana
Particularly in rural areas, girls and students with disabilities remain at high risk of exclusion from education due to poverty, gender inequality and long distances from school.
28% of children in Ghana live below the national poverty line of GH¢1,314 per person per year, rising to 45% of children living in rural areas.
Only 42% of girls in Ghana complete upper secondary school, and among the poorest children this falls to 19%.
Nationally, 27% of girls are married before their 18th birthday, and in northern Ghana, rates can be as high as 40%.
Nimatu, a member of the CAMFED Association (CAMA) of women leaders educated with CAMFED support, recounts her personal story of transformation through education. She now pays forward the benefits of her schooling, supporting a new generation of girls to stay in school, learn, thrive, and become leaders in their own right.
Our unique “power house” are the members of the CAMFED Association - our network of women leaders educated with CAMFED support. Once themselves excluded from education, now they are at this critical point in the journey of humanity where they are standing up for their local communities. As mentors, Learner Guides, rural entrepreneurs and philanthropists, they are the role models girls need to see and create a different future for themselves and for Ghana.Sally Ofori Yeboah, National Director, CAMFED Ghana
supported 227,099 students to go to primary and secondary school using donor funds
Of these, 126,042 students have been supported to go to primary school. CAMFED's Safety Net Fund for partner primary schools provides essential items for children to prevent them from dropping out of school.
And 101,057 students have been supported to go to secondary school. CAMFED provides holistic support, that might include school or exam fees, uniforms, sanitary wear, books, pens, bikes, boarding fees or disability aids.
CAMFED Ghana partners with 1,189 schools - We work in genuine partnership with government schools to help improve the learning environment for all students.
Ghana co-sponsored the 2017 Human Rights Council resolution, recognising the need to address child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian contexts, and the 2015 Human Rights Council resolution to end child, early and forced marriage, recognising that it is a violation of human rights. In spite of this progress, child and early marriage remains an issue, particularly in the rural, northern areas where CAMFED works.
Early marriage limits girls’ skills, resources, knowledge, social support, mobility, and autonomy, they often have little power in relation to their husband, putting them at greater risk of domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and early pregnancy. For married girls and young mothers, this only entrenches the cycle of poverty as out-of-school they lack the resources and support to enter secure employment.
CAMFED Ghana collaborates with the government to ensure that young women not only stay in school, but see the pathway to independence and business leadership. We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ghana Enterprises Agency to support training for young women in establishing businesses. In collaboration with the Government’s Guidance and Counselling Unit, CAMFED Ghana developed the Ministry of Education’s five-year Guidance and Counselling Strategic Plan, Teacher Mentor Training Manual and Civic Education Handbook.
Together with CAMFED Association leaders, we catalyze the activism of CAMFED Champions in our partner communities to support more vulnerable children to go to primary and secondary school.
Since 1998, 586,318 students have been supported to go to school by CAMFED Association members and community initiatives.
Of these, 329,887 students have been supported to go to school directly by CAMFED Association members. Often using profits from their businesses, CAMFED Association members support on average 3 more children to go to school - multiplying the impact of their education.
And 256,431 students have been supported to go to primary and secondary school through community initiatives. This includes parents, teachers, education officials and traditional leaders, who rally resources to support even more children to go to school.
Our movement in Ghana has grown to 59,468 CAMFED Association members helping to form the largest network of its kind in Africa. Young women educated with CAMFED support spearhead our programs and help more vulnerable children to go to school.
I hope my story will be a huge encouragement to many - showing a person living with a disability who has accomplished much in life. I like to say: “Never be afraid to show the world who you are and what you are made of.”
I’m Fatima, a secondary student from Ghana. Today, I am thriving at school alongside my fellow classmates. However, I have faced many challenges throughout my education journey, and I almost did not make it to secondary school.
Citi TV, one of Ghana’s leading television channels, is celebrating young women entrepreneurs through a series of interviews on its popular Breakfast Daily show.
Education saves lives in so many ways! Read how Juliana, supported by CAMFED through school and nursing college, stepped in to deliver a baby by the roadside. “Though I felt I could have failed and something terrible could have happened, I was pushed by my confidence and the knowledge I have acquired from school and at my workplace .”
CAMFED Ghana’s Programs Director Muniratu Issufu joined a radio discussion on Citi FM to highlight the important role of digital learning in advancing girls’ education. Other guests included Linda Ansong, Co-Founder of STEMbees and Gifty Ghansah, Headteacher at the African Gifted Foundation. The session was moderated by journalist Nathan Quao.
Mastercard Foundation Scholars at CAMFED Ghana were excited to join in celebrations of the 10 year anniversary of the Scholars Program at the 2022 Baobab Summit, held in Kigali, Rwanda. Martha Fanny Gaisie and Kate Wodenya Amenyikor were speakers at the three-day gathering, while Joanna Gunab was featured in a docuseries released for the occasion and is quoted in this article on Africa.com.
In this blog by co-written by Global Partnership for Education (GPE) youth leader Asimawu Tahiru, who is also a CAMFED Association member in Ghana, and
An in-depth survey, media articles, and a number of key events have highlighted CAMFED Ghana’s recent progress in supporting girls to thrive at school, and boosting young women’s entrepreneurial and leadership ambitions.
Sally Ofori-Yeboah, National Director CAMFED Ghana, highlights the successes and challenges of our Mobile Learning Labs (MLL) project in Ghana. The one-year project, funded by the 60 Million Girls Fund aims to improve education quality and attainment in rural Ghana through the use of interactive tablets.
CAMFED Ghana and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, partnering to support young women’s entrepreneurship in climate-smart agriculture, creating an environment “to boost and transform agriculture” in the country.
At CAMFED Ghana’s 2021 Annual General Meeting held in Tamale in November, the Director in Charge of Pre-Tertiary Education at the Ministry of Education lauded CAMFED Ghana’s complementary work in supporting young women’s quality education and self development through the Learner Guide model.
Hear from CAMFED secondary scholar Fadila in Ghana about what education means to her. After school, Fadila will be able to join the Association of women leaders educated with CAMFED support and pay forward the benefits of education to others around her.
Four members of the CAMFED Association (the network of women leaders educated with CAMFED support) were selected as the winners of the prestigious Ambassador for a Day competition organized by the British High Commission in Accra, in partnership with the Australian and Canadian High Commissions and the French Embassy.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and CAMFED have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide training and technical support for young female entrepreneurs in Ghana. The MoU is will help young women to grow their businesses, register their products and fulfil regulatory requirements.
In this country there are so many unemployed young people, so when I started university I was already thinking of business ideas. I didn’t want to complete my studies and find myself without opportunities, and getting into entrepreneurship also meant I could pursue something I was really passionate about. I started my groundnut processing business, called Influx Groundnuts Products, in January 2019.
Mary Madha £120
Joan Deverteuil $50
Roger Walker £500
George Marshall £20
Barbara Ferreira €53
Cheryl Peck $20
Mariama Walker $10
Jacqueline Shaldjian $100
Pete Rodriquez $5
Bamidele Adewola $25
Jack Tappin £33
Jing Ma $10
Derek Juno $580
Marcia Hart $60
Chris Malone $150
