The second phase of the Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING II) Project was on Wednesday launched by the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) at Nadowli in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region.
The US$35 million innovation project would help to strengthen the government systems to improve service delivery in health, nutrition, agriculture and resilience of vulnerable population in the Upper West, Upper East, North East and Northern regions.
RING is a United State Agency and International Development (USAID) funded project focused on poverty reduction to improve the nutrition and livelihood status of vulnerable households in Northern Region through agriculture, livelihood and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene(WASH) and community engagement.
The Acting Mission Director, Mr PaulPleva who mentioned this at the launch of the project explained that in partnership with the Government of Ghana, the USAID had a unique opportunity to improve the nutrition and resilience of vulnerable communities RING II.
“Critical aspect of the RING II is the gender equity and inclusion of all communities, and engaging youth as we design and carry out these activities as well as promote transparency and accountability and improve the quality of services delivered by districts”, he said
He said RING II was developed and designed in close engagement between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and multiple entities of the Government of Ghana and stakeholders from the beneficiary region which include, Upper West, Upper East, North East and Northern
He said the funding for RING II allows the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development, Regional Coordinating Councils (RCC) and Metropolitan and Municipal District Authorities (MMDAs) to implement their own plans to improve nutrition and resilience.
The first phase of the RING project, he said was launched between 2015 and 2019 and supported 17 District Assemblies in northern Ghana to reduce severe stunting from 12% to 6.6% and 535 communities to reach Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, resulting in over 127,000 people with expanded access to improved sanitation facilities.
Deputy Minister at the MLGDRD, Mr Collins Augustine Ntim who launched the project expressed his gratitude to the United State Agency and International Development (USAID) for the continuous support for social protection interventions in delivering services that would benefit the people of Ghana particularly the vulnerable and the poor in the rural areas and making significant impact in their lives.
He urged all beneficiary Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to place maximum importance to the implementation of the project and ensure effective and efficient use of the allocated funds to the benefits of poor households and improve the nutrition level within the implementing districts of the project.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realise their potential. USAID’s activities and strategic partnerships support Ghana’s journey to self-reliance.
FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK WA
