Australian High Commission
Ghana
High Commission address: 2, Second Rangoon Close , (cnr Josef B. Tito Ave), Cantonments - Telephone: (+233 302) 216400 - Fax: (+233 302) 216410

Donor’s conference on Mali

The grey skies of Brussels were a sombre backdrop to the International Conference of Donors for the Development of Mali, held on 15 May. It was a sunnier outlook inside the conference hall, where pledges of support amounted to 3.25 billion Euros (approximately AUD 4.233 billion).

Earlier this year, Australia contributed AUD 5 million to the UN trust fund to support the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) and AUD 5 million in humanitarian support for Mali and the region. In 2012, almost AUD 44 million went into humanitarian assistance for countries in the Sahel region, including Mali.

Australia’s support for agricultural research projects, funding of scholarships and study tours (including in mining governance) will assist Mali’s food security and development in the longer term. In the UN Security Council, Australia was also pleased to support the negotiation of Resolution 2010, which established a UN integrated stabilisation mission in Mali.

An Australian Volunteer's bright idea to promote access to solar lighting in Ghana

A volunteering holiday to Ghana inspired recent Australian graduate Boyd Whalan to help devise a simple, cheap form of solar lighting to improve lives.

With fellow student Dan Wilson, Boyd came up with an simple yet ingenious solution to promote access to solar lighting - an affordable pay-as-you-go system. The pair's 'social startup' is winning awards and a four-month pilot scheme is set to start in May. Read More

 

Anzac Day Dawn Service in Accra

The Australian High Commission in Accra held a dawn memorial service on 25 April at the Christiansborg War Cemetery to commemorate Anzac Day. Anzac Day services are held every year for Australians and New Zealanders to remember servicemen and women who have served or lost their lives in times of war, conflict or in peacekeeping operations.

Representatives of the diplomatic corps, Ghanaian Armed Forces and Veterans Administration of Ghana joined members of the Australian and New Zealand communities for the service. 

In her address, High Commissioner Adamson recognised the shared experiences of soldiers from Australia and West Africa.  "Thousands from Ghana and other territories in West Africa took part in the British campaign to recapture Burma,” the High Commissioner said. “This year marks 70 years since work began on the Burma-Thailand railway, where some 12,500 prisoners of war died, including more than 2,800 Australians.”

High Commissioner Adamson also reaffirmed Australia’s continuing commitments to global peace and security, including as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. “West Africa features strongly on the Security Council's agenda. This preoccupies me and my staff, as we look beyond Ghana’s borders to Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mali,” the High Commissioner said. 

Following the service, High Commissioner Adamson led attendees to pay their respects at the grave of Sergeant Mervyn Wilfred Marshall, an Australian killed while on patrol over the then Gold Coast on 13 November 1942, aged 22. 

For more, read the High Commissioner’s speech and the High Commission’s press release. 


 

Report on Food Insecurity in Northern Ghana Launched

The World Food Program has launched their 2012 Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment (CFSVA) for Ghana. The report found that more than 680,000 people in three northern regions were classified as food insecure, the most severely affected of which was Upper East Region, with 27 per cent of households being food insecure.

The CFSVA reports are valuable reference documents for understanding the spread, diversity and causes of food insecurity and vulnerability and are particularly useful for agencies tasked with developing programs and priorities for enhancing food security and resilience. Australia provided funding and two Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development (AYADs) to support the team of Ghanaian government enumerators who collected and analysed the data for the reports. Read More 

 
Australia Assistance in Ghana increasing

Over the past four years, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) has supported 43 Ghanaians to undertake mining-related studies in Australia. This includes six participants studying at master’s degree level.

A study conducted by the Australia–African Partnerships Facility (AAPF) in September 2012, on African mining and mining administration skills, identified priority areas for cooperation in the mining sector in Ghana, including general engineering, accounting and information technology skills. Read More


Australian Ambassador presents credentials to President of Burkina Faso

Australian Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Ms Joanna Adamson presented her letter of credentials to His Excellency, President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso at the Burkinabè Presidential Complex on 19 April 2013.

This was an opportunity to discuss Burkina Faso's and Australia's many common interests, including in development cooperation, trade and investment and international peace and security.

President Compaoré and Ms Adamson undertook to work together to further advance bilateral relations between the two countries. Ambassador Adamson (resident in Accra, Ghana) is Australia’s second Envoy accredited to Burkina Faso.

Australia strengthens Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea

Thirty-five senior West African defence and civilian officials and international counterparts met in Accra on 8 April for a five day Gulf of Guinea maritime security seminar aimed at building capacity and fostering closer regional collaboration.

The Australian Government, in partnership with the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), held the seminar in response to growing concerns about maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea. Read More
 

Australia supports Electoral Training

Australian High Commissioner Joanna Adamson and Head of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) West Africa, Zabeta Moutafis, spoke on 15 April at the opening of a workshop on strategic and financial planning for elections, delivered in Accra to electoral body representatives from regional Francophone countries.

The workshop was conducted by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, an intergovernmental organisation that supports sustainable democracy worldwide. Australia is a founding member of International IDEA and the Australian government, through AusAID, has been pleased to support International IDEA's work in Africa.

Australia and Ghana sign an Exchange of Letters to support Ghanaian Farmer-Based Organisations

On 11 April, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, H.E. Joanna Adamson, and Ghana’s Minister for Food and Agriculture, Hon. Clement Humado, signed an Exchange of Letters to help build the capacity of farmer-based organisations in Ghana with support of A$ 1.4 million over the next two years.

This assistance forms part of the Australian Government’s wider support to agriculture and food security in Ghana and in West Africa through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Australia Africa Partnerships Facility (AAPF). Read More

Australian Federal Election

The Australian Federal Election will be held on Saturday 14 September 2013. Early (in-person) voting will be offered at the Australian High Commission, Accra from Monday 2 September 2013. Election arrangements including voting times will be published on this page closer to the election.

In the meantime, you can find information relating to being overseas at election time on the Australian Electoral Commission’s website www.aec.gov.au. 

Welcome from the Australian High Commissioner 

Welcome to the website of the Australian High Commission in Accra, Ghana. I hope you find the site interesting and informative.

I was delighted to commence my new role at the High Commission on 21 January 2013, after earlier visits to Ghana in 2009 and 2011. I will also be responsible for Australia’s relations with Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra and Togo.

The Australian High Commission’s job is to advance Australia’s political, economic and other interests in all of these countries, and to work with partner governments on issues of common interest, including trade and investment and peace and security.

In particular, I look forward to working closely with partner governments during Australia’s two year term on the United Nations Security Council from 2013-14.

I am also very pleased that both Australia’s development assistance agency (AusAID), and the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), now have regional offices in the High Commission in Accra to help service these growing ties between Australia and the region.

I look forward to many enriching experiences working to advance bilateral relationships and meeting Australians and friends of Australia across the region.

 

 

 

 

 


Joanna Adamson, High Commisioner

Information for Australian travellers

 


 

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