By IANS,
Accra : Gobind Nankani, prominent Indian-origin development economist and head of the Global Development Network (GDN), has been honoured with a top Ghanaian national award for his contributions to the development of Ghana and Africa.
Ghanaian President John A. Kufour presented Nankani with the ‘Order of the Volta’ on July 3 in Accra.
Nankani was cited particularly for his role as vice president for Africa at the World Bank from 2004 to 2006, and also for his contribution over the years to the promotion of social development policy and financing.
Kufuor presented awards to distinguished personalities, including foreign nationals. The awards were instituted by the nation’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, when Ghana attained republic status on July 1, 1960.
Speaking at the National Honours Awards, on the theme ‘Branding Ghana for a Prosperous Future’, Kufuor said: “We have sought to honour a cross section of society who in the course of their work have made exceptional contributions to the development of the nation. Today’s function is to urge them on to greater service to the nation and encourage others to follow their example.”
As head of GDN, Nankani oversees a worldwide association of researchers and policy institutes with the goal of generating and sharing knowledge, building research capacity and bridging the gap between ideas and policy for development.
Nankani firmly believes that “world-class research capabilities exist in developing countries. The challenge is to ensure that they influence policy debate at the country and regional levels”. Informed policy-making instead of opinion-based policy-making is the key to effective and inclusive development and poverty reduction.
The online research database GDNet has over 7,000 registered researchers and provides access to over 14,000 journal articles for researchers in developing and transition countries.
GDN became an International Organization in February 2008. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It signed the Headquarters Agreement with the Government of India in May 2008. GDN’s regional offices are located in Cairo, Egypt and Washington. Its site is www.gdnet.org.