The U.S. Embassy in Ghana has announced Dr Joel Duah Afi, a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumnus from Ghana, as the winner of the 2024 Leadership Impact Award.

This esteemed award, given annually, honours the exceptional accomplishments of one outstanding member of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Network.

Candidates for the award are nominated by U.S. embassies, consulates, and other Fellowship stakeholders based on the impact of their work and their role as ambassadors for the Fellowship.

Dr Duah travelled to Washington, D.C. to accept the award and will engage with Alumni and 2024 Fellows throughout the next year.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, the flagship program of the U.S. Government’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Since its inception in 2014, the Fellowship has supported nearly 6,500 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The program aims to foster closer relations between Americans and Africans and to empower young African leaders through academic coursework, leadership training, mentoring, networking, professional opportunities, and local community engagement.

“Dr. Duah has actively served as an exemplary ambassador for the Mandela Washington Fellowship program in various capacities and is an excellent representative of the program’s impact as an Alumnus of the Fellowship who inspires us all in his work as a medical doctor and health educator.

"We are proud of his achievements and look forward to many more impactful endeavours,” said Laneice Brooker, Cultural Affairs Attaché.

Dr. Duah’s recognition underscores the transformative power of the Mandela Washington Fellowship and its mission to empower the next generation of African leaders.