The Veterans Administration, Ghana (VAG) has launched the 2026 Poppy Appeal, with a focus on raising funds to construct district offices across the country to improve access to services for veterans and their dependents.
The initiative seeks to address the VAG’s infrastructure challenges, with only 14 of its 72 administrative districts currently having reliable office buildings. The remaining districts operate from uncompleted structures, church premises, district assembly facilities and makeshift structures.
Addressing the gathering at the launch in Accra on Friday, the Minister of Defence, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, urged Ghanaians to support the 2026 Poppy Appeal to improve the welfare and living conditions of the country’s ageing veterans, particularly the few surviving pre-independence veterans.
He said the appeal was not merely a fundraising exercise, but a national expression of gratitude to men and women who served Ghana and humanity, stressing that the country had a responsibility to support veterans while they were still alive.
Mr Adjei noted that the generation of pre-independence veterans was rapidly disappearing, describing them as a living link between Ghana’s colonial military history, independence and the development of the Ghana Armed Forces.
“Many of them enlisted when Ghana was still the Gold Coast. Some served during the Second World War and in other theatres of conflict far from their homes,” he stated.
He recalled the difficult conditions endured by Ghanaian soldiers in Burma, including hunger, disease and the dangers of the jungle, saying their resilience contributed to victories in distant campaigns.
Mr Adjei explained that funds raised would support healthcare, welfare assistance, infrastructure and other interventions identified by the VAG.
He therefore called on corporate Ghana, financial institutions, traditional leaders, parliamentarians, ministers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, development partners, civil society organisations and individuals to contribute generously.
The Minister also urged schools, universities, cultural institutions and the media to educate young people about Ghana’s military history and the contributions of veterans.
He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to working with the VAG, the Ghana Armed Forces and other stakeholders to promote veterans’ welfare and dignity.
Earlier, the Executive Director of the VAG, Brigadier General Seidu Mumuni Adams (Rtd), said the administration had more than 24,000 members, including about one-tenth widows, as well as 95 living Gold Coast or pre-independence veterans and widows.
He said the oldest surviving veteran was 104 years old, adding that the VAG operated in 10 regions and 72 administrative districts.
Brigadier General Adams said only 14 districts had reliable offices and disclosed that the VAG had designed a prototype district office which it intended to replicate in more than 50 districts without permanent offices.
He said each facility was estimated to cost about two million Ghana cedis.
Brigadier General also disclosed that last year’s appeal enabled the VAG to procure an ambulance for its clinic at Amasaman, which serves veterans and residents of neighbouring communities.
He appealed for continued public support, saying improved district infrastructure would strengthen the administration’s ability to reach veterans and military widows and widowers.
BY STEPHANIE BIRIKORANG
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