By Anthony Adongo Apubeo, GNA
Bongo (U/E), Feb. 14, GNA – Residents of some communities in the Upper East Region have been encouraged to use the digital complaint dashboard developed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), to lodge complaints and report development challenges to improve service delivery.
Madam Yvonne Wonchua, the Upper East Regional Focal Person for UNFPA, said the system was easy to use and when properly harnessed, could help residents channel complaints to service providers for appropriate action.
In 2025, UNFPA developed the digital complaint dashboard and a service providers’ scorecard mechanism as part of efforts to create a platform for residents to conveniently submit their concerns and development challenges to the appropriate service providers.
The move is also intended to enhance the complaint systems of service providers and improve service delivery and tracking mechanisms.
The platform currently operates through a website, www.pbfdash.com, and a mobile application downloadable via the Google Play Store.
It aims to centralise and harmonise data collection, enhance cross-sector collaboration to ensure faster resolution of complaints, and improve accessibility through multiple complaint channels.
The platform currently covers four sectors: health, security, social services, and social justice. It includes referral mechanisms to ensure easy processing of complaints. The system is user-friendly and cost-effective, allowing complainants to type messages and upload pictures or voice notes directly.
The intervention, which is being piloted in three communities each in the Bongo, Bawku West, and Garu Districts, forms part of the implementation of the project titled, “Enhancing Social Cohesion and Social Contract through Empowerment of Women and Youth in Three Northern Regions of Ghana.”
The project is being implemented by UNFPA and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, with funding support from the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund.
The initiative seeks to work with stakeholders to prevent and address the root causes of localised and spillover conflicts, as well as vulnerabilities to violent extremism in northern Ghana, particularly in the Upper East, Upper West, and North East Regions.
As part of the implementation process, training sessions were organised for members of the beneficiary communities to ensure they fully understood the system and patronised it to bridge the gap between residents and service providers.
During follow-up training sessions for the pilot communities, Madam Wonchua explained that the institutionalisation of the complaint system was to ensure that communities were not unduly disadvantaged by the distance between them and service providers.
She urged communities to view the platform as a strategic tool and harness it to resolve critical issues and promote development in their areas.
Mr Elijah Apusiwine Adombire, the Bongo District Management Information System/Information Technology Officer, who trained residents on the platform, assured them that the system guaranteed the confidentiality and protection of complainants.
Pognaba Felicia Agampoka, the Queenmother of Feo, one of the pilot communities, thanked UNFPA and its partners for the intervention and said the information would be widely shared within the community to ensure full participation.
She called for strict protection of the identities of complainants, especially those who report cases that could threaten their lives.
Madam Vida Akumolga, a resident of Soe, another pilot community, said the project would help residents lodge key development challenges with the appropriate authorities without difficulty and encouraged community members to make good use of the system.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/ Christabel Addo