USAID Supports Two Northern Districts

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has entered into a partnership agreement with two districts in the Northern Region to help reduce poverty levels in the beneficiary areas.

Dubbed: “Resiliency in Northern Ghana”, the $60 million initiative is also aimed at improving the livelihoods and nutritional status of the people, particularly women and children in 10 other districts in the region after the successful implementation of the two pilot areas.

It would further support the districts to fulfil their respective development plans by assisting low income families to improve on their health status and also enable them to cope with fluctuating food prices and natural disasters such as droughts or floods.

The USAID Ghana Mission Director, Ms Cheryl Anderson, signed the agreement with the Northern Regional Minister, Moses Mabengba, and the coordinating directors of the two beneficiary districts of Chereponi and Saboba, Issaka Basintale and Evarist Dery respectively in Tamale yesterday.

Ms Anderson explained that the USAID had earlier signed an agreement with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to transfer an initial $11 million for the programme.

She added that part of the funds would be released to the pilot districts for an initial period of three months and that the entire initiative would span a period of five years and would include technical and capacity building support for the assemblies.

“The United States would continue to strengthen the bonds of cooperation with responsible governments around the world to help them achieve their development objectives of improving on the lives of their people,” Ms Anderson assured.

Mr Mabengba expressed appreciation to the USAID for their interventions in the region over the years and noted that this latest support would help reduce the high incidence of poverty prevailing in the area.

He gave a pledge that the Northern Regional Coordinating Council would continue to support all development partners who intended to embark on similar ventures. The minister advised officials of the pilot districts to live up to expectation by ensuring the successful implementation of the initiative in order to pave way for the other assemblies to also benefit.