ACCRA, Ghana– At a ceremony on November 14 in Tamale, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded scholarships to 11 students from the University for Development Studies (UDS). These scholarships are granted through the USAID West Africa Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Program (USAID WA-WASH) to support students pursuing Master’s Degrees in WASH-related fields.

“Among USAID’s goals in West Africa are increasing sustainable access to safe water and sanitation, and improving hygiene in this region,” said Alexandre Deprez, USAID West Africa Mission Director. “The students who receive these scholarships will conduct research on topics related to these areas, thereby providing their own contributions to these efforts.”

A total of 42 students from four universities in Burkina Faso and Ghana will be granted scholarships for the 2014-2015 academic year.  These students will receive a scholarship package covering tuition fees and field work expenses, a monthly stipend as well as health insurance.

Six UDS students received similar scholarships last year.  Their research topics, which focused on the Upper West region of  Ghana, included conservation agriculture as an adaptation strategy, the effects of women’s access to and ownership of land on food security, and an assessment of borehole water quality at source and point-of-use at the household level.