Scholarships expand Ghana girls’ education

Forty high-performing schoolgirls from underprivileged communities in Ghana will receive annual scholarships under the newly launched Educating Linda programme, a joint initiative of Merck Foundation, Ghana’s First Lady Lordina Dramani Mahama and the Lordina Foundation aimed at keeping girls in classrooms until graduation.

The programme, formally launched in Accra, is designed to remove financial barriers that often force girls out of school, including tuition costs, uniforms, stationery and other basic learning needs. It marks a new phase in Merck Foundation’s partnership with Ghana’s First Lady, who also serves as Ambassador of the foundation’s “More Than a Mother” campaign, a wider initiative focused on women’s empowerment, health awareness, infertility stigma and social protection.

Merck Foundation’s leadership said the Ghana launch extends a pan-African scholarship model that has already supported more than 1,500 schoolgirls across 21 African countries. The scheme targets bright girls from low-income households, especially those at risk of dropping out because their families cannot meet school-related expenses. The Ghana package will support the 40 beneficiaries annually until they complete their education, with the partners framing the intervention as both a social protection measure and a long-term investment in national development.

Lordina Dramani Mahama said the initiative aligned closely with her foundation’s work in education, health and poverty alleviation. She described girls’ education as central to social and economic progress, adding that each beneficiary represented a wider circle of impact extending to families and communities. During the launch, the programme partners met beneficiaries and their parents to hear how scholarship support was affecting school attendance, confidence and family expectations.

The new education initiative comes alongside a broader Merck Foundation-Ghana partnership in healthcare capacity-building. The foundation and the First Lady’s office have supported 257 scholarships for Ghanaian healthcare providers across 44 critical and underserved specialties, including fertility, embryology, reproductive care, oncology, diabetes, endocrinology, family medicine, women’s health, respiratory care, critical care, paediatrics, psychiatry, dermatology, emergency medicine and neurology. The healthcare scholarships are aimed at easing specialist shortages and improving access to services beyond major urban centres.

Ghana has made gains in school access, but learning outcomes and retention remain persistent concerns. Primary completion rates are high by regional standards, while lower secondary completion has remained below universal levels. Girls’ participation has improved, yet poverty, early marriage pressures, household responsibilities, inadequate sanitation facilities and the cost of school materials continue to affect attendance in vulnerable communities. Education specialists have repeatedly warned that enrolment alone does not guarantee learning, with national assessments showing significant gaps in reading and numeracy proficiency among pupils.

The Educating Linda programme was launched by Merck Foundation in 2019 as part of its wider effort to support girls who are academically promising but financially constrained. Its approach combines scholarships with advocacy, school supplies, children’s storybooks, songs and media campaigns aimed at shifting attitudes around girls’ education, child marriage and gender-based discrimination. The Ghana rollout includes the distribution of educational storybooks addressing social and health themes, including “Educating Linda”, “More Than a Mother”, “Jackline’s Rescue”, “Ride into the Future”, “Sugar Free Jude”, “Mark’s Pressure” and “Ray of Hope”.

The partnership also includes media and creative awards across Africa and Asia, designed to encourage journalists, filmmakers, fashion designers and musicians to address issues such as infertility stigma, child marriage, gender-based violence, diabetes, hypertension and women’s empowerment. Ghanaian participants have been recognised in past award cycles, and health media training has been used to encourage more responsible reporting on sensitive social and medical topics.

Lordina Foundation’s role gives the programme a local implementation base. The foundation has worked on maternal and child health facilities, medical outreach, support for orphanages, scholarships, vocational training and economic empowerment for women. Its work has included maternity and children’s ward projects, donations of hospital equipment, screening programmes and support for vulnerable children.