Catholic Bishop in Ghana Calls for “deeper collaboration” with Partners to address Country’s Development Needs

Accra, 21 August, 2025 / 3:30 PM

The President of the Ghana Conference of Catholic Bishops (GCBC) has highlighted the need for “deeper collaboration” between the Catholic Church and development partners in confronting pressing challenges in the West African nation.

Speaking on Wednesday, August 20, during the inaugural Caritas Ghana Donors’ Conference, in Ghana’s Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, Bishop Mathew Kwafi Gyamfi underscored the need to cultivate innovative partnerships that enhance the Church’s development mission.

“The trials before us, poverty, inequality, climate change, displacement, and the struggle for sustainable livelihoods, demand deeper alliances and a shared responsibility,” said Bishop Gyamfi.

The Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Sunyani expressed hope that, inspired by the Conference of Bishops in Ghana, both the local and international partners at the conference would become co-creators of change, not only investing merely in projects, but in a shared mission to nurture and advance dignity, justice, and peace.

“May this be the dawn of renewed collaboration and imaginative partnerships that respond to the urgency of our shared challenges,” said the GCBC president during the one-day event that was organized on the theme, “Strengthening Collaboration for Integral Human Development.”

He invited development partners to ensure that the Catholic Church’s development mission in Ghana flourishes through touching lives, transforming communities, and becoming an ever more radiant witness to the Gospel in action. 

He said, “We aspire to serve as a uniquely credible, community-rooted, and locally-led partner, one that is deeply grounded in the wisdom of Catholic social teaching and enriched by the solidarity of the Caritas family.”

“We also know that whilst we are making very careful efforts to preserve support and self-reliance, we still need aid. We need assistance,”  said Bishop Gyamfi in his speech at the August 20 event, during which Caritas Ghana also launched its Strategic Framework for 2025-2030.

Describing the five-year document as “a bold blueprint for institutional renewal” the 68-year-old Catholic Church leader emphasized that it should not be perceived as  “a mere rhetoric” but taken as “a concrete program of reform.”

“It calls us to strengthen governance, refine systems and enhance our capacity for monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning,” he explained.

The strategic framework, he added, further commits the charity organization of the GCBC “to the highest standards of due diligence, value for money, and a demonstrable impact.”

“In practice this means fortifying the system development offices, adopting tools that ensure results are carefully tracked, and centering local leadership in all that we do,” explained the Catholic Church leader, who began his Episcopal Ordination in June 2003.

In his August 20 address, Bishop Gyamfi acknowledged the Church in Ghana for remaining steadfast in its development mission amidst a persistently changing global development landscape.

He said, “We know the global landscape of development is shifting, new priorities are evolving, aid resources are becoming more constrained, and the challenges that confront our communities are deepening in complexity.” 

Faced with this reality, the GCBC president said they have resolved not to retreat but to respond with courage and foresight, adding that for over fifty years, the Church in Ghana has remained a faithful partner in the nation’s path of growth and development.

He went on to note that through Parishes and Dioceses, schools and hospitals, social centers and local initiatives, the Church has journeyed alongside the people, sharing in their joys during difficult moments and remaining steadfast in times of adversity.

“Whether through education, health care, agriculture, peace building, humanitarian relief, advocacy, financial and social credit, our mission has remained unwavering, namely to defend and uphold the dignity of every Ghanaian person, guided by the Gospel and the principles of Catholic social teaching,” Bishop Gyamfi said.