The Program Officer of Access Coalition Secretariat, Grace Ronoh has advised Civil Society Organizations to actively engage World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in their home region to advance energy access.

Speaking at a workshop held at Milkin Hotel in Ghana, Miss Ronoh explained that CSOs must understand the work module of AfDB and World Bank in order to influence its policy and project implementation.

The Country Programme Officer of AfDB, Mr Bakkhali Olami, in response to working with CSOs, applauded the idea, stating that “one of AfDB’s governance structure is Participation” therefore “CSOs are urged to actively participate in its activities” in order to monitor and track the projects funded by AfDB.

The program hosted various African regional nodes and their members comprising the East Africa Regional Node headed by Kenya Climate Change Working Group, the South Africa Regional Node, Action 24 and the West Africa Regional Node headed by Strategic Youth Network for Development.

The National Coordinator of Access Ghana, Faustina Boakye reiterated the need to establish “women’s access to energy and clean cooking at the grassroots” and called for more integration of CSOs working on energy access into the coalition.

About ACCESS

ACCESS was founded in 2014 with its secretariat in Nairobi steered by the KClimate Change Working Group
Mission: Advocacy for people living in poverty to have access to safe, reliable and affordable energy and environmentally sustainable and efficient energy systems globally

Strengthens the efforts of CSOs and other stakeholders as the coalition shares the best practices in implementing energy access.

Structure: Coordinating Group, Secretariat, East African Regional Node, West African Regional Node, South African Regional Node (Action 24).