Johannesburg, SA – A grassroots organisation that holds African governments to account has won a $100,000 award, it was announced today. They will be presented with the award at a ceremony in Johannesburg tonight, attended by representatives from civil society, academic institutions, business and government. The winner of the third annual ONE Award, SEND Ghana, promotes good governance and empowers local people to hold their officials to account so that they can access the healthcare and education they have been promised by their government. The annual prize of $100,000, donated by the Howard G Buffett Foundation and awarded by the global anti-poverty campaign ONE, recognises innovative efforts and outstanding contributions by Africans to help advance one or more of the Millennium Development Goals. SEND Ghana is an example of an African-based, African-led advocacy organisation that has achieved remarkable results. They have helped people access education and healthcare services in the poorest parts of the country by informing them about the services available and empowering them to hold their government to account – teaching local people how to lobby politicians and officials at every level of government when services aren't up to scratch. As a result more people have signed up to the Ghanaian National Health Insurance Scheme. They also successfully lobbied the government to set up a committee to review the operations of the country’s school feeding programme. The ONE Award will help SEND increase its advocacy activities from a district and regional to a national level, allowing them to help thousands more people access the services that they are entitled to so that they can lead healthier and more prosperous lives. The announcement comes as ONE opens its new Africa head office in Johannesburg. Speaking ahead of the ceremony to honour SEND Ghana, ONE’s Africa Director, Dr Sipho Moyo said: “This year we received a record number of nominations for the ONE Award from across the continent, showing the breadth of outstanding non-government organisations that are committed to fighting poverty and contributing to Africa’s development. “SEND Ghana stood out as an exceptional organisation that educates and empowers citizens to take part in the political process and access the services available to them. What impressed us even more was SEND’s model of citizen engagement, education, training and advocacy which is backed up by policy research. It not only promotes sustainable development but more importantly can also be replicated in different regions and countries. “ONE works to achieve change through advocacy and grass roots campaigning, we are therefore very proud that the only annual award we give will go towards supporting African-led advocacy work that is making a real difference on the ground. We look forward to working with SEND and their partners in the future toward our common objective of fighting poverty and promoting good governance in Africa.” Mr. Siapha Kamara, Founding Chief Executive Officer of SEND said: “SEND’s Board and staff received the news of this award with immense jubilation because it represents an acknowledgment of nearly a decade of work aimed at promoting accountable governance, especially at the district level where majority of the poor interact with structures of the state. “This award strengthens SEND’s belief that sustainable poverty reduction is only possible if African governments are accountable, transparent and promote gender equity. SEND will use the opportunity provided by this award to deepen and expand its programs on good governance practices and gender equality promotion in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. “By accepting this award SEND is quite aware of the enormous responsibility that comes with it - to remain an innovative and inspiring civil society organisation working to get governments in Africa to achieve the MDGs.”