The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has hosted a delegation from UNICEF to explore stronger collaboration on child-focused development planning and implementation. The meeting, held on Monday, November 10, 2025, aimed to deepen cooperation in advancing Ghana’s development priorities, particularly in strengthening planning, coordination, and accountability mechanisms that address challenges affecting children.
Director-General of NDPC, Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, emphasised the importance of synergy among development partners to achieve shared national goals. She likened the current fragmented approach to “22 people chasing one ball,” noting that while many institutions work toward similar objectives, their efforts often lack coordination.
“Everybody is holding a part of the solution to a common problem,” Dr. Amoah said. “Bringing all institutions together will help create a clearer, unified development picture.”
She welcomed UNICEF’s proposal for a strategic planning retreat focused on advancing the best interests of children, describing it as an opportunity for team building and joint problem-solving among partners. Dr. Amoah also highlighted NDPC’s progress in aligning the national policy framework with the President’s Coordinated Programme, ensuring greater coherence between planning and budgeting across government.
UNICEF Deputy Representative Mr. Hammad Masood commended NDPC for Ghana’s impressive national development framework, calling it one of the most advanced in Africa. He introduced UNICEF’s “bottleneck-based planning” approach, designed to identify and address systemic barriers that hinder progress in key areas such as child marriage, education, and health.
The proposed retreat, to be organised under NDPC’s leadership, will bring together multiple sectors to design integrated, results-oriented solutions and promote shared ownership among partners as Ghana works toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and shaping its post-2030 development agenda.