Over 367,000 people to benefit from USAID-supported food security and nutrition initiative in Northern Region

Resiliency in Northern Ghana, a $60 million USAID-supported initiative seeks to improve the livelihoods and nutritional status of those most in need (with an emphasis on women of reproductive age and children under five years), and expects to benefit more than 367,000 people in the Northern Region. The initiative will help increase food security, encourage the consumption of diverse quality food, and improve nutrition.

This USAID initiative focuses on low income families, helping them to improve health and enabling them to better cope with natural disasters such as droughts or floods, and fluctuating food prices. The Resiliency Initiative will be implemented in 12 districts in the Northern Region, which USAID has identified through an assessment process.

The American people will provide up to $28 million of the initiative's funds directly to the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), to be disbursed to the 12 targeted District Assemblies and the Northern Region Coordinating Council (NRCC). District Assemblies and the NRCC will be able to implement activities with these funds, while USAID will also provide technical and capacity building support for those activities that are targeted to improve nutrition and strengthen the resiliency of poor families.

To implement the Resiliency Initiative, the U.S. Government, represented by USAID, and the Government of Ghana, represented by MOFEP, signed a Basic Implementation Letter in Accra on June 27, 2012 to transfer an initial tranche of $11 million of funding for program activities. The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Honorable Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, signed for Ghana, while the USAID/Ghana Mission Director, Ms. Cheryl Anderson, signed for the U.S. Government. The U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Donald Teitelbaum, and the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Honorable San Nasamu Asabigi, witnessed the signing ceremony.

The Basic Implementation Letter demonstrates the U.S. commitments to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the Accra Agenda for Action, and the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation. This letter authorizes the first direct funding to the Government of Ghana from USAID “on budget” which means that the funds will flow directly through the Bank of Ghana and will be included in the Government of Ghana budget for accounting purposes.

For more information on other Resilience Initiatives in Africa, visit http://blog.usaid.gov/tag/resilience/.

For more information on USAID Ghana's other development activities and partnerships, visit

http://ghana.usembassy.gov/ and http://ghana.usaid.gov/.