Youth-led organisations and representatives from nine countries have taken part in a training programme aimed at strengthening how young people monitor public service delivery and influence policy reforms at the community level.
The initiative, led by Plan International Ghana, forms part of the Youth Accelerator for Change project and focuses on equipping participants with practical tools to assess services in key sectors such as health and education using a structured accountability system.
A key component of the programme is the Young Citizens Score Card (YCSC) Training of Trainers, designed to build the capacity of youth leaders to evaluate public services, identify gaps, and engage stakeholders on solutions to improve service delivery outcomes.
Speaking to Joy News and Joy Learning TV, the Volta Regional Focal Representative of the She Leads Social Movement, Philomena Adjei, explained that the scorecard system follows a structured four-phase process.
She said the process begins with planning and analysis, followed by scoring services in communities, engagement with stakeholders, and follow-up actions aimed at influencing policy and improving service delivery.
“The scorecard training has four phases. We prepare, score services, meet stakeholders, and then follow up to influence policy,” she said.
She added that participants are trained to return to their communities as trainers, cascading knowledge to other young people and supporting wider community engagement.
According to her, young people are also guided to work with community members to identify key issues affecting service delivery, prioritise them, and develop action plans with stakeholders to address them.
“We are trained to go back into our communities, engage young people, identify the issues affecting them, prioritise them, and pick key ones to work on with stakeholders,” she said.
She further explained that implementation timelines may vary depending on the nature of the issues identified, noting that many challenges are deeply rooted in social and cultural systems and may take time to resolve.
The broader Youth Accelerator for Change project also includes capacity building for youth-led advocacy groups and social enterprises, as well as the Global Youth Ambassadors programme, which prepares young people to represent their countries in international policy spaces such as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Organisers say the initiative is positioning young people as active drivers of accountability, helping to improve transparency and strengthen service delivery systems in communities across participating countries.
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