Accra (Ghana), 21 April 2026 – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its subregional offices for North Africa and West Africa, in collaboration with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in Ghana, launched a three-day capacity-building workshop on the developed toolkit for “Integrating migration and diaspora contributions in National & medium-term Development Plans and Policies” in Accra from 21 to 23 April 2026. This meeting focuses on equipping national and local institutions with practical tools to better integrate migration, diaspora contributions, and remittances into national and medium-term development plans and policies in order to fully harness their impact on Ghana’s long-term development.
Held under the programme “Strengthening the migration-development nexus in Africa,” the workshop brought together approximately 100 participants from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), as well as key stakeholders from the private sector and civil society.
During the opening session, Mr. Richard Tweneboa-Koduah, Director of Research at Ghana’s National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), said that approximately 1.7 million Ghanaians reside abroad across more than 50 destinations, driven by a range of factors. “Despite global uncertainties, remittance inflows to Ghana have remained resilient; however, the majority of these funds are directed toward consumption, with a relatively small share allocated to savings and investment”, he added. Mr. Richard Tweneboa-Koduah further emphasized ongoing efforts to better integrate remittances into sectoral development plans.
In this context, the toolkit presented serves as a practical instrument to more effectively capture diaspora contributions and migration dynamics within national and sectoral planning frameworks. It offers a structured methodology to support monitoring and evaluation, enabling stakeholders to track progress and assess how effectively the tool is being implemented.
In his opening remarks, Amadou Diouf, Economic Affairs Officer at the ECA Subregional Office for West Africa (ECA/SRO-WA), commended NDPC and partners for their strong collaboration and recalled ECA’s multi-country programme launched in 2024 to strengthen the migration–development nexus. He noted the significant progress made in Ghana, including technical support to integrate remittances into the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (2026–2029). Emphasizing Ghana’s position as a leading remittance recipient, with inflows reaching US$7.8 billion in 2025, Amadou Diouf underscored their critical role in the economy and the government’s efforts to better channel these resources toward investment and development. He concluded by reaffirming UNECA’s commitment and encouraging active engagement to ensure practical outcomes.
The workshop aimed at building institutional capacities to apply the toolkit effectively, identify gaps in existing development plans, and enhance the alignment of migration and diaspora contributions with Ghana’s national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Since the launch of ECA’s multi-country programme in 2024, Ghana has made significant progress in strengthening the migration-development nexus, including analytical work to integrate remittances into the Medium-Term National Development Policy Framework (2026–2029) and policy reforms to improve governance, coordination, and investment mechanisms.
Over the following three days, participants will engage in plenary discussions and hands-on sessions to discuss how to make use of the toolkit in their respective plans, with the objective of fostering more coherent, evidence-based, and impact-oriented development planning.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: eca-info@un.org