Gov�t Gets US$60m For Food-Security Initiative

Government has secured a grant of US$60million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement the Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) project. The project, which is expected to benefit 12 districts in the Northern Region, will help increase food security, encourage the consumption of diverse quality food, and improve the nutritional status of women and children. Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. government through USAID will provide US$60million over a five-year period. US$28million of the funds will be made available directly to government through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) to be disbursed to the12 targetted district assemblies and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (NRCC). Annual funding of between US$200,000 and US$500,000 will be given to eligible districts. District assemblies and the NRCC will implement the relevant activities with the funds, while USAID will provide technical and capacity-building support for those activities. Over 367,000 people are expected to benefit from the project. The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffour, at the signing of the basic implementation letter to transfer an initial tranche of US$11million of funding for the programme, expressed government�s appreciation for the support. �The importance of the US in our development effort cannot be over-emphasised. The US remains our strategic partner and has been very instrumental in our development efforts toward achieving the Millenium development Goals (MDGs) as well as our transition into middle-income status. �The signing of the RING agreement today will go a long way to further deepen and broaden international relations between the two countries for our mutual benefit.� The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Donald Teitelbaum, affirmed his government�s continuous support for Ghana in areas of bilateral collaboration between the two nations.