Ghana, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, is partnering the USAID to launch the ‘National Radio Reading Programme’ for early grade reading.

The programme aims at improving early grade reading in English and in Ghana’s 11 official languages of instruction.

Ms Stephanie S. Sullivan, the US Ambassador to Ghana, at the launch of the programme in Accra, explained that it would provide distance learning instruction for kindergarten pupils to fourth-grade pupils.

In addition to reading content, she said, the radio programme would include health and safety behaviour-change messaging for students, focusing on handwashing, physical distancing, and child protection.

Other contents would be messaging to parents and caregivers on supervising homework, family health and hygiene, and ways to prevent bullying, sexual assault, and early pregnancy.

Ms Sullivan said the two countries had over the past seven years worked side by side to strengthen Ghana's educational system through varied interventions such as developing a phonics-based programme to improve reading levels for pupils in early stages.

“Ghanaian children are out of school now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to address this challenge and ensure the continuous success of the nation’s early grade, the reading programme was launched,” Ms Sullivan said.

“I am excited about, and grateful for, our continued partnership with the Ministry of Education. Through our collaboration, we have witnessed tremendous success in Ghana’s literacy rates over the years and look forward to an even brighter future.”

The ambassador commended the Ministry of Education for its diligent and tireless work to ensure that Ghanaian children continued to learn during this challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We also thank FHI 360 especially for its commitment as an international non-profit organisation to improve the health and well-being of people around the world, including here in Ghana,” she said.

She commended the international and local partners of the programme like LEGO Foundation, The Right to Play, Lively Minds, Otumfuo Foundation, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and UNICEF for their support.