By Hafsa Obeng/Grace Yayra Kagatse, GNA
Accra, Sept. 22, GNA – The National Peace Council (NPC) has commemorated the 2026 International Day of Peace in Accra with a call on Ghanaians to invest in peace for everyone, everywhere and every day.
The commemoration, on the theme: “Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day”, brought together students from Accra Girls Senior High School and Accra High School, teachers, religious leaders and other stakeholders.
Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, Board Member of the NPC, said the focus of the commemoration was to sensitise the youth on the importance of peace and peacebuilding.
He said concerns about violence and indiscipline in schools underscored the need for parents to promote peace and discipline at home.
“If from home our parents would teach or talk about peace and be examples of peace themselves among them as parents, that will also help to inculcate the idea of peace in our younger generation,” he said.
Most Rev. Fianu said Ghana had dropped to 76th position out of 163 countries in the 2026 Global Peace Index, with a score of 1.94, compared with 61st position and a score of 1.898 in 2025.
He said the decline was linked to factors including gun-related violence, speech-related arrests and violent clashes associated with small-scale mining.
He said between January and September 2026, the Council had undertaken eight major mediation and fact-finding interventions across six regions.
These included efforts to resolve the Nkwanta conflict in the Oti Region, which resulted in the signing of a peace declaration on July 18.
He said the commemoration was to demonstrate that peace began within individuals and must be lived daily through mutual respect.
He said the discussions are to provide the students with useful knowledge to promote peace in their school environments and share with others, expressing the hope that the lessons would remain with the students as they practiced the theme of investing in peace everywhere.
“Peace begins with us. If we live in peace, we can live peacefully within ourselves and within others, and the world will be a peaceful place for all of us,” he said.
Mr Zia Choudhury, the Head of the United Nations in Ghana, said Ghana was regarded as one of the most peaceful nations in the region and globally, a status that had been built and maintained over decades.
He cautioned against misinformation, disinformation and attempts to divide society, saying Ghana’s interfaith harmony remained a foundation on which peace could be strengthened.
“We must invest in the young people, especially the women and girls, so that they can be peace ambassadors and continue promoting peace in this country, starting from the smallest spaces at home, in the street, in the marketplace, at school,” he said.
Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, Spokesperson of the National Chief Imam said peace must be deliberately pursued through good governance, fairness, justice, ethics and equity.
“We must allow it to work in our minds, in our hearts, in our spirits, that we can resolve conflict without necessarily drawing out a dagger, without killing, without shooting anybody,” he said.
Mrs Theodora Williams Anti, Ministry of Interior said investing in peace meant investing in education, health, justice, strong institutions and opportunities for young people and women.
She said peace was not built only in negotiation rooms or through international agreements, but is cultivated daily in homes, communities and institutions.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Hafsa Obeng/Grace Yayra Kagatse
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]