The Ghana Armed Forces, in collaboration with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, has begun a nationwide, 18-month project tour of seven garrisons with the intention of sensitising personnel on gender mainstreaming in the army.
The exercise, funded by Global Affairs Canada, is part of a project aimed at “enhancing Ghana Armed Forces capabilities to address barriers to women in peacekeeping”.
Speaking to Asaase News at the start of the tour, the gender advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff, Naval Captain Veronica Arhin, said that the Ghana Armed Forces are fully on board to promote gender mainstreaming.
The project is part of the Canada-led Elsie Initiative. The 18-month Ghana project is estimated to cost in excess of C$1.52 million and was informed by the recommendations of the 2020 Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peace Operations (MOWIP) report.
The report, which assessed the GAF’s ability to deploy women and also ensure their meaningful participation in UN peace operations, identified eligible pool, gender roles and social exclusion as top barriers to women’s meaningful participation in UN peacekeeping.
The project is being implemented by the GAF through Canada Technical Assistance and Training and KAIPTC in collaboration with the Canadian Armed Forces.
Building capacity
The project will build the institutional capacity of the GAF to address challenges that impede the deployment of women to UN peace operations.
The purpose of the tour is to enhance awareness and knowledge of women, peace and security mechanisms in the GAF and brief personnel on the commitment of the GAF leadership to mainstream gender in its operations to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The acting head of the Women in Peace and Security Institute at KAIPTC, Agnes Agbevali, said that KAIPTC is committed to enhancing women’s peace and security.
The commanding officer of the 154th Armoured Regiment, based at the Liberation Barracks in Sunyani, Lieutenant Colonel Kofi Obiri Yeboah, described the initiative as timely, as it will help to cushion gender equality in the GAF.
Ghana is the seventh most significant contributor to UN peacekeeping, with 2,760 uniformed personnel deployed, 15.6% of whom are women. The MOWIP project is being implemented in Ghana and Zimbabwe as a pilot.
Daniel Donkor
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