The Ghana National Household Registry (GNHR), an agency under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, has organized a specialized training workshop for selected Information Officers of the Information Services Department (ISD) to prepare them for a nationwide public education campaign ahead of an upcoming household data collection exercise.
The Training workshop, held at Miklin Hotel, Kumasi on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, brought together Officials from GNHR, Officials from ISD Headquarters, ISD officers from various regions, especially those where data collection will be rolled out in the coming weeks: Bono, Bono East, Eastern, Western North, Western, Ashanti, and Ahafo, and the Media. The workshop aimed to equip the officers with the relevant knowledge and communication tools to sensitize the general public and encourage full participation in the Ghana National Household Registry enumeration process
A major highlight of the training was the full representation from the Ahafo Region — all six District Information Officers from the six districts in Ahafo led by the Ahafo Regional Information Officer (RIO), Mr. Kombat Maxwell Bassum were selected to participate in the GNHR exercise. This selection was described by many as timely and fortunate, given the region’s growing importance in national development and the need to accurately capture household data for targeted interventions.
In his opening remarks, Nana Akrasi Sarpong, the Ashanti Regional Information Officer of the ISD, emphasized the critical role of communication in the success of national exercises such as the GNHR enumeration. “The effectiveness of this data collection will not rest only on the enumerators — it depends heavily on how well we communicate its purpose to the public,” He stated. “We, the ISD officers, must become ambassadors of clarity, trust, and community engagement.”
He also commended the Ghana National Household Registry for recognizing the importance of early engagement with the ISD and expressed confidence that the trained officers would return to their districts better equipped to lead public sensitization efforts
A key highlight of the workshop was the address delivered by the Acting Director-General of the ISD, Dr. Winifred Nafisa Mahama, who commended GNHR for the strategic collaboration with the ISD. She described the partnership as a timely initiative that reflects the government’s commitment to transparency, inclusion, and data-driven policymaking.
“The Information Services Department has always been the mouthpiece of government at the grassroots. Our presence in every district gives us a unique advantage in leading this campaign,” Dr. Mahama stated. “I urge all officers here to take this assignment seriously. The data being collected will help design policies that directly impact the lives of the poor and vulnerable. Your work is central to that mission.”
She also pledged the Department’s full support in ensuring the successful rollout of the public education campaign across all targeted regions and encouraged continuous coordination between ISD regional offices and GNHR officials Mr. Richard Adjetey Akuetteh, PhD, Head of Ghana National Household Registry, briefed participants on how the registry is being used to create a unified database of poor and vulnerable households to support interventions such as the LEAP programme, Ghana School Feeding Programme, and other government safety nets.
He stressed that the cooperation of households was essential, and ISD officers were key to ensuring that communities are well-informed and ready to welcome enumerators.
