International Development Grant
Ghana Paediatric Nursing Education Partnership (PNEP)
Project Number: CA-3-D000764001
Status: Closed
Country/Region:
Maximum Contribution: $9,465,000.00
Start Date: November 28, 2014
End Date: April 30, 2023
Duration: 8.4 years
Project Description
This project aims to reduce death and illness among newborns and children in underserved districts in Ghana. By expanding paediatric nurse programs this project seeks to build the professional skills of paediatric nurses and health workers to provide quality cost-effective evidence-based nursing and midwifery care to newborns and children. Project activities include: (1) establishing three new training institutions for paediatric nursing specialist programs and continuing professional development courses; (2) developing standardized curricula for the paediatric nursing specialist program and the continuing professional development course at the national Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives; (3) delivering paediatric nursing specialist training programs to 500 nurses; (4) delivering continuing professional development courses on subjects such as sickle cell disease neonatal care and nutrition to 1 000 nurses midwives and community health workers; and (5) facilitating the adoption of essential policies including equitable national recruitment retention and deployment strategies for scale-up with a focus on underserved regions. The project expects to reach about 1 500 people including nurses midwives and health workers directly with training. Approximately 6 700 000 children and newborns are also expected to benefit from better health services as a result of the scale-up of paediatric nursing programs in Ghana. DFATD has set aside funds for an evaluation of this project. For administrative reasons the funds identified for this purpose have been included in the amount appearing on this page.
Expected Results
The expected results for this project include: (1) increased number of clinical nurse educators trained; (2) increased number of nurses enrolled in the paediatric nursing specialist program; (3) increased number of health workers completing continuing professional development courses; and (4) the implementation of essential policies including an equitable national recruitment retention and deployment strategy.
Progress & Results Achieved
Results achieved as of the end of the project (March 2021) include: (1) trained 501 pediatric nurses (of which 372 women and 129 men) through a one-year competency-based nursing education program across three sites (Accra Kumasi and Tamale) against a target of 500; (2) ensured a regional distribution of nurses recruited into the one-year program by having 52% of residents come from underserved areas against a target of 50%; (3) developed a nationally standardized curriculum for pediatric nursing; (4) increased and built capacity of 1264 health care workers through continued professional development courses in nutrition sickle cell disease and newborn care against a target of 1000; (5) improved access to pediatric nurses by having a PNEP trained nurse at 83 Ghana Health Services designated district hospitals against a target of 70; and (6) retained 232 out of 233 trained nurses working in Ghanian health care institutions more than 13 months following the completion of the program.
Key Information
Executing Agency:
The Hospital for Sick Children
Reporting Organization:
Global Affairs Canada
Program:
YFMInternaAssistPartnershp&Programing Br
Last Modified:
September 19, 2025
Development Classifications
DAC Sector:
Aid Type: Project-type interventions
Collaboration: Bilateral
Finance Type: Aid grant excluding debt reorganisation
Selection Mechanism:
Department-Initiated