The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening collaboration to advance the Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) Programme and promote gender-responsive development planning in Ghana.

The commitment was reaffirmed during a courtesy call by an AFIDEP delegation, led by its Executive Director, Dr Eliya Zulu, to the NDPC on Tuesday, July 21.

The discussions focused on implementing the next phase of collaboration following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier this year, as well as preparations for a Gender-Responsive Budgeting and Planning (GRB) training programme for selected districts across the country.

Speaking during the meeting, Dr Zulu described AFIDEP as a pan-African research and policy institute dedicated to strengthening evidence-informed policymaking across the continent. He stressed that planning institutions such as the NDPC are essential partners in ensuring that research findings are translated into tangible development outcomes.

"We are a research and policy organisation, but our focus is to ensure that evidence translates into better development outcomes and improved well-being for citizens. Planning institutions such as NDPC are therefore critical partners in achieving this goal," he said.

Dr Zulu further disclosed that AFIDEP's Women's Economic Empowerment initiative is currently being piloted in Ghana and Kenya, adding that the Institute is keen to build a long-term partnership with the Commission beyond the proposed Gender-Responsive Budgeting and Planning training programme.

AFIDEP's Lead Economist, Dr Jackson Otieno, said the Institute had already shared a concept note on the proposed training with the NDPC and was working closely with the Commission's technical team to refine the programme ahead of implementation.

"We are collaborating to strengthen the training approach and develop the training-of-trainers component ahead of implementation. We look forward to working closely with NDPC to deliver this programme," he stated.

Responding, the Director-General of the NDPC, Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, welcomed the continued collaboration, noting that although the Commission had initially hoped the training would coincide with the preparation of the current Medium-Term Development Plans, those plans had already been completed.

She explained, however, that the proposed intervention could still support the review of annual action plans and budgets, as well as the preparation of Annual Progress Reports, while discussions continue on the most appropriate timing for future planning cycles.

"The proposed interventions align with the Commission's mandate and ongoing planning processes. We will provide feedback on the concept note through the appropriate technical team, and we encourage continued engagement between our two institutions," Dr Amoah said.

The AFIDEP delegation also introduced members of its Women's Economic Empowerment Programme leadership team and reaffirmed the Institute's commitment to supporting evidence-based planning and promoting cross-country learning between Ghana and Kenya.