West Africa
Ghana
GCERF has been investing in Ghana since 2023, funding civil society organisations in the northern regions to address the root causes of violent extremism and strengthen community resilience, in the context of growing regional insecurity linked to instability in the Sahel and spillover risks from neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso.
- Bolgatanga
- Nalerigu
- Wa
- Tamale
- Damango
Background & Context
Understanding Violent
Extremism in Ghana
Ghana’s northern regions face growing vulnerabilities to violent extremism (VE), despite the country’s overall stability. Both internal and external factors contribute to this risk, particularly the expansion of extremist groups across the Sahel region, with neighbouring Burkina Faso significantly heightening the threat. Burkina Faso, which ranked 1st on the Global Terrorism Index in 2025, shares a border with Ghana, raising concerns over the potential spillover of violence.
GCERF'S UNIQUE INVESTMENT MODEL
Country
Support Mechanism
GCERF pioneers a unique investment model designed to promote a whole-of-society approach and ensure the sustainability of our programmes. Under this model, in each partner country, we support national governments in establishing a steering committee called the Country Support Mechanism (CSM).
In Ghana, CSM is chaired by the National Security Council Secretariat and brings together relevant government agencies, civil society organisations and donor representatives to provide strategic direction for the programmes, ensure results and progressively inherit ownership of funding community-level efforts to prevent violent extremism.
Key Drivers of Violent Extremism
external Factors
Increased flow of refugees from Burkina Faso burdening existing social infrastructures.
Ethnic tensions arising from land disputes
Growing tensions between farmers and herders around access to natural resources.
Governance and Infrastructure Struggles to Manage migratory flows
Absence of effective screening systems to monitor potential infiltration and recruitment by violent extremist groups.
Results at a Glance
Key Results
Investment & grant figures updated May 2026 · Programme results updated December 2025