GHANA ARMY, ELSIE INITIATIVE FUND COMMISSION 200-BED FEMALE ACCN FOR ARTS

Ghana Army, in collaboration with the Elsie Initiative Fund (EIF), has commissioned a newly-built 200-bed Female Accommodation at the Army Recruit Training School (ARTS), Shai-Hills, as part of support for gender mainstreaming efforts, and Guaranteeing Equal Opportunities for all in the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).

The building was commissioned by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Ghana Army – Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Bismarck Kwasi Onwona, who was represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Southern Command (S/COMD) – Brigadier General (Brig Gen) Samuel Yeboah Asare, on Friday 24 January 2025.

EIF funded the total construction of the building, the second of its kind – the first being a 100-bed female accommodation at the Army Special Operations Training School (ASOTS), Daboya, in northern Ghana – the two costing One Million Five Hundred Thousand USD ($1.5 million), to facilitate the training of female recruits at Ghana Army’s Recruit Training Schools.

Delivering the keynote address, Brig Gen SY Asare said traditionally, structures in place for Recruits and other training in GAF have been geared towards the training of male Recruits and Officers.

In recent times however, he said, in line with global trends of gender equality and the United Nations (UN) Agenda on Women Peace and Security, GAF has increased its intake of female trainees in all training institutions, howbeit with the requirement to avail additional facilities that would enhance the training of females, in dignity and appropriate facilities.

In 2024, General Asare said, ARTS trained 830 Recruits, out of which 224, representing about 30% were females – the highest number of females trained by the school so far – although existing facilities were inadequate for the training of the increased numbers of females who were being taken on board.

GAF contributed 25.3% females of its personnel as Military Observers and Staff Officers for a UN target of 21% for Troop Contributing Countries (TCC) in 2024, whiles UN’s target for formed troops for the same year was 11%, with GAF providing 14.6% of troops being females, thus having the highest numbers in all of UN Peacekeeping troops.

Ghana has also contributed some high-ranking female Officers to UN peacekeeping operations, such as late Major General (Maj Gen) Constance Ama Emefa Edjeani-Afenu who was Deputy Force Commander (DFC), United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO); and Commodore Faustina Anokye – DFC, MINURSO;

Others are Brig Gen Felicia Twum-Barima (Rtd) – former Defence Attaché to Ghana’s Embassy in la Cote d’Ivoire, and Military Observer at UN Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo; and Maj Gen Anita Asmah – former DFC, United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), and Force Commander (FC), UNDOF.

The Counsellor, Political and Public Affairs, Canadian High Commission in Ghana – Madam Elsa Movelhi-Rondeau, who represented the Canadian High Commissioner in Ghana, said Canada has proudly contributed $17.5 million to date to the EIF – which was launched by Canada in 2017 to increase the meaningful participation of military and police women in UN peace operations, in support of the United Nations Uniform Gender Parity Strategy targets.

She said peacekeeping units that include women can more easily gain the trust of populations affected by conflict, and therefore obtain important insights and intelligence, allowing them to protect all segments of affected populations, placing them in better stead to deliver on their mandates and protect civilians.

She added that by providing safe, convivial and inclusive environments that are well adapted to women’s needs, GAF becomes more attractive to young women, ensuring the retention of their talents and skills, hence allowing more women to step into the footsteps of so many Ghanaian peacekeepers before them.

Brig Gen Augustin Asiedu – Director General, International Peacekeeping Support Operations (IPSO), GAF, said the Elsie Initiative’s aim came about as a result of a research work of measuring opportunity for women in peace operations, which revealed certain issues that needed to be addressed in GAF, conducted from 2019 to 2020.

The research identified limited pool of females in GAF to be deployed in peace support operations in decision-making roles, particularly in command positions, and that the provision of accommodation facilities is one of the many means being carried out to remove or reduce barriers.

He added that the EIF, Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces have also sponsored the development of GAF Gender Policy, which was launched in March 2024 – establishing a peacekeeping database for GAF, a gender training curriculum for all its training schools, and an online gender training course for gender-acquainted persons.

Dr Efua Ansere – representative of the EIF Manager, and UN Women Senior Gender Specialist, said of the construction – which was undertaken by Messrs WASS – that a lot was spent at the foundation level due to the quarry blasting in the Shai-Hills area, and the clayey nature of the soil.

She added that the design of the project reflects the recommendations of the Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peace Operations (MOPWIP) report, which identifies key barriers to women’s meaningful participation, including the need for adequate infrastructure to support their recruitment, training, and deployment, for safety, privacy, and dignity.

She added that complementing the constructions, is the GAF Nationwide Recruitment and Sensitization Campaign, designed to encourage more young women at the secondary school level, to consider to pursue careers within Ghana’s military, which has reached over 27,000 students.

The 200-bed one-storey EIF Female Accommodation Block, which commenced in May 2023 and completed in October 2024, has each floor consisting of four dormitories, a box room, an ironing room, 28 showers and 18 water closets, as compared to the 16 bathrooms and 16 toilets wooden facility in the structure that previously housed the female recruits.

The EIF has the following countries as donors: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom.

Its projects in Ghana are run via a Project Implementation Committee, led by the DG IPSO, along with implementing partners such as the Women Youth Peace and Security Institute of the Kofi Anan International Peacekeeping Centre, and the Ministry of Finance.

Dignitaries present at the building’s inauguration included the Commander, Army Training Command – Brig Gen Stephen Woseadzikpo Kweku Parbey; Deputy Chief Staff Officer, Operations and Training, Army Headquarters – Brig Gen Kweku Dankwa Hagan; Director General, Civilian Establishment, GAF – Brig Gen Charles Kweku Budu-Kumi;

Others were Gender Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff, GAF – Group Captain (Gp Capt) Theodora Agornyo; Gender Advisors to GAF Service Chiefs – Colonel (Col) Rahinatu Sledge Alando, Naval Captain Cecilia Amoo-Welsing, and Gp Capt Francisca La-Anyane;

Commanding Officer (CO), 1 Infantry Battalion – Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Frank Adams; Acting CO, ARTS – Lt Col Patrick Anang; Canadian Embassy Defence Advisor Lt Col Charles Palmer; Officers, Acting Sergeant Major, Regimental Sergeant Majors, Soldiers and Defence Civilian Staff.

By Kofi Ampeah-Woode