The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) of Ghana, with technical and financial support from the Finance Capacity Development Platform (FCDP) for Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) countries, the World Bank, and UNICEF, organized a four-day Training of Trainers (ToT) and Pilot Planning Workshop on Food Systems Transformation and Nutrition Security from April 13th – 16th 2026 at Aqua Safari Resort, Ada.
The program was implemented in two linked phases:
- Phase I (13th–14th April): Training of selected national-level sector officers as Master Trainers to facilitate district-level FSNS planning.
- Phase II (15th–16th April): Pilot district workshop with Ada East, Ningo-Prampram, and South Tongu to test the practicality and user-friendliness of the FSNS planning tools & facilitation model.
The workshop was convened to strengthen national and sub-national capacity for integrating FSNS priorities into district 2026–2029 Medium-Term Development Plans (MTDPs), in line with the MTNDPF and Ghana’s Nutrition for Growth commitments. The full program validated and refined the FSNS Planning Tools, strengthened the technical capacity of a national pool of Master Trainers, and demonstrated the feasibility of district-level integration of FSNS interventions into planning and budgeting systems.
Key lessons from the pilot included:
- The Master Trainer model proved effective, with facilitators demonstrating strong competency in transferring technical knowledge and guiding district planning processes.
- District Planning Officers provided strong institutional leadership, ensuring effective team coordination and quality outputs.
- Districts demonstrated strong responsiveness, adaptability, and innovation, particularly in addressing data availability challenges.
- The FSNS Planning Toolkit was confirmed as practical, functional, and sufficiently robust for broader national application, while also identifying opportunities for further simplification.
- The multi-sectoral structure of district participation proved essential in testing the practicality of the toolkit within real governance and service delivery systems.
5 key outputs of the workshop:
- Validation and refinement of the FSNS Planning Toolkit and planning tools.
- Establishment of a pool of trained Master Trainers for rollout across the regions.
- Development of draft district-level costed FSNS action plans for three pilot districts.
- Development of an action plan to validate and seek approvals for the finalization of the FSNS plans for three pilot districts, and plans for incorporation into the budget process.
- Improved multi-sectoral coordination and planning for food systems and nutrition.
Overall, the initiative provides a credible pathway for translating national nutrition commitments into costed district-level programs. With sustained support and a phased rollout approach, the FSNS Planning Toolkit and Master Trainer model position NDPC to lead a more coordinated and results-oriented FSNS planning process nationwide. With the FSNS cascade training planned for a national roll-out, the stage is now set to translate this foundational work into nationwide impact.
FCDP is a SUN Movement resource available to all 67 SUN Countries. The platform aims to transform the nutrition financing landscape by inspiring and igniting government leaders to elevate nutrition financing as a priority and accelerate impact across sectors.
