Our competency and capacity

The Center for Learning and Childhood Development-Ghana (CLCD) is a collaborative, research-based non-profit organization located in Accra, Ghana. Its mission is to use research, advocacy, and capacity building to promote child survival and development in Ghana. The CLCD has a 13-member multidisciplinary board, whose expertise spans research, non-profit management, policy, childhood development and developmental disorders. The Center has nine Ph.D. level technical advisers drawn from leading academic institutions, including the University of Ghana and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They lead or provide technical expertise on research grants, study designs, and research implementation and data visualization. As a result, a major capacity of the organization is in research design, implementation, and analysis.

Studies we have managed

Our capacity has also been harnessed through a diverse portfolio of studies implemented at the community and health system levels. Below we highlight a few. In collaboration with the Ghana Health Services, the Center developed and led a formative study to document gaps in the treatment and care of children with developmental disabilities. The study involved conducting surveys and in-depth interviews with health workers across five large public hospitals in Accra. The content of the survey included knowledge, attitudes, and practices of health workers relating to developmental disorders. The study team also conducted four focus group discussions with caregivers of children with developmental disorders to identify barriers to care seeking.

Moreover, the Center was awarded a grant through Global Affairs Canada (Savanna Signatures) to identify interventions that have saved the most newborn lives in the Northern Region of Ghana. Our team collected qualitative data from health workers, traditional birth attendants, policymakers, non-profit organization managers, and community members. They also performed a historical, quantitative, secondary data analysis using the Lived Saved Tool. The tool is a model that is used evaluate the impact of scaling up health and nutrition interventions on maternal neonatal, and child health. Furthermore, for the past year and a half, the Center has supported the University of Ghana to implement a National Institutes of Health-funded cohort study involving postpartum women receiving HIV care across four hospitals in Accra. Our Director led the creation of the study instruments for this study. Lastly, with funding from Oakland University, MI, the CLCD is evaluating the reliability and validity of a scale to measure stigma relating to low birth weight in Ghana. Together, these studies, and that of others have given the organization expertise in research in the urban context. It has also well-positioned the Center to manage research grants, produce and manage quality data, and meet funders requirements.

Dissemination of our work

Findings of CLCD’s research have been presented at several local and international conferences, including a special invitation to present its work on child development at a Joint UNICEF and World Bank meeting in Ghana. Our work has also been published in a peer reviewed journal and used for graduate level thesis.

All our research managers have at least a master’s level degree with training in research from leading institutions, including from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, London School of Economics, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All projects are supervised by a PhD level Principal Investigators from leading institutions in and outside of Ghana.