United Nations in Ghana

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265 communities in Northern Ghana receive resilient water sanitation and hygiene facilities under joint UN programme

Canada supports Northern Ghana with easy access to water sanitation and hygiene facilities through joint UN WASH in Disaster Prone Communities programme.

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02 September 2021

President commissions Premium Foods Ltd, a WFP-assisted factory

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01 September 2021

UN Partners Okyeman Environment Foundation to Save the Environment, Create Jobs and Protect Lives

Press Release

12 August 2021

Ghana: Anti-LGBTI draft bill a “recipe for violence” – UN experts

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02 September 2021

President commissions Premium Foods Ltd, a WFP-assisted factory

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01 September 2021

UN Partners Okyeman Environment Foundation to Save the Environment, Create Jobs and Protect Lives

Press Release

12 August 2021

Ghana: Anti-LGBTI draft bill a “recipe for violence” – UN experts

The Sustainable Development Goals in Ghana

The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are the goals the UN is working on in Ghana:

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18 November 2020

UN Deputy Secretary-General Presents UN Ghana’s COVID-19 Recovery Plan to the President of Ghana

Like all countries around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant adverse effects on Ghana’s economy and has further impacted on other sectors such as health, education and agriculture. Nonetheless, the country is gradually picking up and businesses have started performing better than six months ago. Findings from a second round COVID-19 Business Tracker Survey conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service with support from UNDP and the World Bank reveal that even though Ghanaian businesses are recovering, firms continue to report decline in sales, difficulties in sourcing inputs, and challenges in finding financial resources to cover revenue shortfall. Other sectors are also functioning, but not to their full capacity. Recognizing the broad socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, the United Nations in April this year issued a framework to help countries to address the challenges, protect people, and build back better. The “United Nations Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19: shared responsibility, global solidarity and urgent action for people in need” calls for investing in health systems, protecting people, promoting economic recovery, creating macro-economic stability and investing in social cohesion. It calls for strong multilateral cooperation and urges countries to seize the opportunity of COVID to recover more sustainably – focusing on a greener route towards carbon-neutrality, investing in a more gender-equal recovery and harnessing the opportunities that the digital and technological transformations offer. In line with this global UN Framework, the UN in Ghana, led by the UN Resident Coordinator, in collaboration with key stakeholders, has developed its country specific COVID-19 Socio-Economic Response and Recovery Plan (SERRP) that will assist Ghana to recover and build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic in a more sustainable and inclusive way. The plan repurposes about $91m of existing resources and commits to raising an additional $39m over the next 12 – 18 months. The UN in Ghana’s Plan builds on the its immediate COVID 19 response – the COVID-19 Country Preparedness and Response Plan (CPRP) - and is aligned to Government priorities – seeking to address the health challenges, mitigate the socio-economic impacts, and support Ghana to build back better. A number of the initiatives within SERRP support the Government’s own ‘Obaatan Pa” CARES programme. During her visit to Ghana, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General (DSG), Her Excellency Amina J. Mohammed presented the plan to the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The presentation signals the official launch of the document and a commitment of the United Nations in the country to stand with the Government and relevant partners to work to support Ghana recover from the multiple impacts of the pandemic and stay on track towards the attainment of the SDG and achieve its goal of becoming resilient and self-reliant. The discussions between the President and DSG centered around recovering from the pandemic, the need for public education and sensitization on the strict adherence to COVID -19 mitigation measures, more research around the mode of transmission, mutation and trajectory of the pandemic in Ghana, expanding services for treatment of severe cases and need for African countries to also invest in vaccine production. Ms. Mohammed commended Ghana for her determination to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The DSG also highlighted the importance of sustaining peace and stability, as well as investing in the youth, both in Ghana and the African continent.

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20 March 2020

COVID-19 Local Outbreak Situation - Ghana

The latest situation reports are available at the Ghana Health Service dedicated website on COVID-19. 1. In response to the outbreak, the Government has issued a number of directives and other control measures to prevent further importation of cases and local transmission. These directives include: A travel advisory – Any traveler (with the exception of Ghanaians and those with resident permits) who, within the last 14 days, has been to countries that have recorded at least 200 cases of persons infected of COVID-19, would not be permitted into the country; mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for persons who arrive in country from affected countries. 2. A 4-week ban on mass gatherings including funerals, church services and schools, effective 16 March 2020. Certain activities/events have been suspended while others are advised to open/operate only under enhanced hygiene. Please visit the Ghana Health Service website for details. The country’s Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) was activated and has been engaged since January 2020. The EOC meetings are chaired by the Minister of Health. Response activities are organized by the following sub- groups: Coordination Surveillance/points of entry Case management Laboratory and Risk communication. This structure is replicated at sub-national levels in the regions and districts. The President on 11 March 2020 announced a $100 million fund for COVID-19 preparedness and response in Ghana. For all official updates on COVID-19 visit the Government of Ghana website at: http://www.ghanahealthservice.org/covid19/ Global outbreak situation WHO Situation Report: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports/ WHO Real Time Dashboard: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/685d0ace521648f8a5beeeee1b9125cd

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21 June 2021

Climate-proof adaptation revitalizes a local economy and empowers women in Ghana

Climate change and unpredictable flooding make the river in Mframafaw periodically impassable. It is a huge problem for Madam Meliama Sulemana, a farmer, and her seven children. When it floods, Madam Meliama and her children are cut off from the nearby market where she sells her produce, and from their school. After consultations with the local community, a culvert and a bridge are being constructed to channel the floodwaters away from the community and provide a safe access-way to local services. The construction is under the Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) project. The GrEEn project is a four-year initiative of the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). It is funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa, SNV and UNCDF. It aims at creating greater economic and employment opportunities for youth, women and returning migrants by promoting and supporting sustainable, green businesses in the Ashanti and Western Regions of Ghana; helping people like Ms Sulemana. Mframafaw is a lowland farming community, about 25km from Offinso in the Ashanti region of Ghana. A few years ago, Ms Sulemana and her family depended on income from the farm for food and school fees for her children. She planted maize, oranges and rice. Her high hopes for the future have faded as climate change has made it difficult for her and her family to make a living or access basic services like schools and hospitals. “The situation has gotten so bad that we leave the fruits to rot in the farms since we do not see any point in harvesting them when we know there’s no way to get them to the market” said Ms Sulemana. “In the past I used to make enough money from my farm and was even able to save but now I barely earn enough to feed my family. Without external assistance, pregnant women in this town find it impossible to access healthcare during the raining season,” she added. Today, the GrEEn project is taking the Local Climate Adaptive Living facility to Phase II in Ghana, using LoCAL's innovative performance-based climate resilience grants, hosted by UNCDF, to channel finance to local governments for locally led adaptation actions. Activities, guided by the needs of the community, might include land regeneration, green economic investments or climate proofed infrastructure development, as in Mframafaw.

One of the benefits of the LoCAL approach is its flexibility, allowing local communities to identify their needs and collaborate in finding a climate-proof solution. Over the years, the village and local government authorities have tried to construct makeshift bridges over the river, which now breaks its banks every rainy season. The bridges are washed away whenever there is a heavy downpour. The women also tried splitting their harvest into small bundles to carry on their heads through the floodwaters, or contract local men with access to motorized tricycles to help them transport their goods. But these options proved either time consuming, hazardous and or costly. According to Ms Sulemana and other women in the community, the plans for the bridge and culvert come just in time as climate change had collapsed commercial farming activities and the village children were missing out on school. With the construction of the bridge and culvert under the GrEEn initiative, children will now find it easy to travel to school and farming activities are expected to resume.

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02 September 2021

President commissions Premium Foods Ltd, a WFP-assisted factory

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana has commissioned a new factory of Premium Foods Limited, one of two industrial agro-processors supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) to produce high quality specialized nutritious foods, a blend of cereals mixed with extra minerals and vitamins. Located at Kwaso in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti region, the factory was supported under WFP’s Enhanced Nutrition and Value Chains (ENVAC) project, funded by Canada. It is equipped to process over 96,000 metric tonnes of maize grits and cereals each year. It’s extrusion plant produces a ready-to-eat fortified blend of corn and soybeans, fortified with 18 vitamins and minerals, to improve the nutrition of pregnant and nursing women, adults and growing infants. Some 120 new jobs have been created, comprising technical and management positions whilst farmers and out-growers along the value chain have benefitted from thousands of direct and indirect income earning opportunities. Describing Premium Foods as a “classic example of the critical role agricultural production and value addition play in the economic development of countries”, President Akufo-Addo commended WFP, Canada and other institutions for the support provided which has culminated in the establishment of this state-of-the-art factory, one of few factories with such capabilities in West Africa. The honourable Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan Kyerematen affirmed his ministry would “continue to improve the strategic partnership with the private sector and collaborating organizations to establish similar modern factories which would be globally competitive and take full advantage of foreign market opportunities such as the Africa Free Continental Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).” Mr. Chris Nikoi, WFP Regional Director for West and Central Africa, noted that the new factory will serve not only Ghana, but the West Africa sub-region. “Until now, WFP has had to source specialized nutritious foods from the USA, Belgium, Italy or South Africa for use within the sub-region. Procuring directly from Premium Foods will reduce lead times by at least 3 months, reaching the people in need in our region much quicker. Now we are able to source from the region for the region!” He announced that WFP had placed its first export order to meet the nutritional needs of 30,000 children in Burkina Faso. “The ENVAC initiative, resulted from a Ghana-Canada-UN collaboration to support a public-private partnership lays a strong foundation to change the game on innovation in the nutrition value chain – from farm to factory, to the tables of those that need enhanced nutrition the most,” said HE Ms Kati Csaba, the Canadian High Commissioner. Validating the High Commissioner’s remarks, Mr. Tom Gambrah, the Managing Director of Premium Foods commended Canada for the bold decision to channel part of their development funds to the private sector and WFP for conceiving of the integrated ENVAC project and providing the seed funds as this gave their bankers the confidence to finance the project. The commissioning of the new factory is a befitting ending to the ENVAC project which has succeeded in addressing some of the bottlenecks prevalent in Ghana’s food systems. Agro-processors, such as Premium Foods, have been the pivot of the ENVAC project as they provide a market for smallholder farmers to sell their produce and their nutritious products have helped to improve the nutritional status of particularly, vulnerable pregnant and nursing women, children and adolescents, who are unable to regularly afford foods which provide the nutrients they require at critical stages of the life cycle. Abena Brefi, a 53-year-old widow and smallholder maize farmer at Brehoma near Kobreso in the Ashanti Region, testifies to the impact of sales to Premium Foods. At first, she and other smallholder farmers in Brehoma dealt with some market women who often didn’t pay for the maize they bought. This changed when Mr. Twum, the aggregator who supplies maize to Premium Foods, came on the scene. “He provides us with some farm inputs and pays immediately he buys from us. Before I met him, I struggled to pay my children’s school fees because payment from other buyers was irregular, so my three eldest children dropped out of school. But since he began buying my maize, I have enough money to pay school fees and so the last three have been able to complete senior high school. “ With the factory fully equipped for production, efforts are now underway to support the marketing of these products whilst improving the livelihoods of the most vulnerable to enable them to buy them to improve their nutritional status. Making locally produced specialized nutritious foods available and affordable to all in Ghana is an important step to prevent malnutrition and enhance the nation’s human capital.

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01 September 2021

UN Partners Okyeman Environment Foundation to Save the Environment, Create Jobs and Protect Lives

The UN Resident Coordinator led a delegation of UN officials from UNICEF, UNDP and WHO. They were accompanied by the Special Advisor of the President of the Republic of Ghana on Sustainable Development, Dr. Eugene Owusu. The Joint programme, “Fostering Reforestation, Environmental Sustainability and Tourism in the Okyeman Area (FOREST Okyeman): Accelerating the SDGs through a multi-stakeholder, community-based approach to sustainable livelihoods and wellbeing”, will build on existing initiatives of the Okyeman Environment Foundation in the region. It will focus on environment, health and education with a strong livelihood and empowerment component. It will be jointly implemented by five UN agencies, namely UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, UNEP and UN Volunteer, together with the OEF. Supported by the UN Human Security Trust Fund with a grant of 1 million dollars, the implementing UN agencies will co-fund the programme with additional 1.3 million dollars. It is expected to benefit 1.3 million people particularly women and youth. In a passionate message on the environment, the King of the Royal Ofori Panin Palace of the Akyem Kingdom of Ghana, His Majesty, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II reiterated the power and knowledge of local people and traditional leaders to drive their own agenda on the environment. He advised that “unless we come to understand that for sustainable development to be effective, the process and ownership, should be left with the local people.” Read the full special story here.

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02 August 2021

265 communities in Northern Ghana receive resilient water sanitation and hygiene facilities under joint UN programme

Several communities in Northern Ghana are pronounced flood prone, owing mainly to the low-lying nature of the area. Floods in this part of the country are perennial thereby increasing the vulnerability of the people in the area to infections, illness, loss of livelihoods, lack of farmlands and school closures. Besides, access to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services pose yet another key public health challenge for flood prone areas in Northern Ghana. With only about 10% of the population said to use improved sanitation facilities, and high cases of open defecation, the situation is worrisome. For the people, “issues of water and sanitation can be life threatening, especially when disaster occurs” says the Country Representative of the UNFPA, Mr. Niyi Ojuolape. Further buttressing the seriousness of the situation, Dr. Eric Moukoro, the Programme Manager, UN-Habitat , said “when it floods, the water washes the poor WASH facilities into the streams, rivers and un-elevated and poorly built hand-dug wells thereby contaminating the very source of their drinking water”, a situation that makes the people in the North susceptible to several health hazards. To address this daunting poor sanitation menace, and support the people to build resilient WASH facilities that can prevent vulnerability to natural disaster in the area, the United Nations in Ghana, represented by four agencies, namely, UN-Habitat, UNICEF, UNDP and WHO implemented the UN Water and Sanitation in Disaster Prone Communities Programme, (WASH in DPC) targeting 265 disaster prone communities in Northern Ghana. Through the programme, approximately 300,000 people in these communities, schools and healthcare facilities have received resilient water and sanitation infrastructure and thereby allowing for their social inclusion and universal access to water and sanitation and other essential services related to disaster management with early warning mechanisms by communities and Government bodies, including the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO). The 3-year programme was funded by Global Affairs (GAC), an endorsement of Canada’s aspiration “to foster an inclusive society where everyone’s needs are met” says Mr. Eric Chimsi, Development Officer at the Canadian High Commission. Recently, to officially close the WASH in DPC programme, the UN and implementing partners toured some beneficiary communities in the North to appreciate the extent of work and the impact of the facilities and services provided by the programme. They also interacted with some residents, many of whom say the easy access to reliable water has made their lives easier and less stressful. Adisa Abdul Rhaman, a 28-year old mother of five says “I no longer rush home from work only to travel another distance to fetch water at the end of each day”. Beaming with smiles, Palabe Dorcas Kolan told us “Gone are the days when we used to fight at the stream over water. These days, we do not fight. All you have to do is bring your bucket to the water station, pay a little amount and fetch”. In Ward K, the UN and partners handed over two water stations and hand washing facilities to the people at a brief ceremony. They would serve the community and be fit for purpose in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is pleasing to note the inclusion of COVID-19 protocol behavioral change communication in the programme” says Mr. Chimsi. He further identified the strong coordination effort between the UN and implementing partners including the Government of Ghana which was significant for the successful implementation of the programme. He advised that lessons learnt from the implementation of the WASH in DPC should inform future WASH interventions. Mr. Chimsi noted that the facility management system needs to be formalized to ensure the project is sustainable. Prior to the field visit, the UN team and partners met in the Northern regional capital, Tamale to reflect on the achievements made from the implementation of the Joint WASH in DPC programme. The meeting brought together representatives of the GAC, the UN in Ghana, Civil Society Organisations and government officials from the regional levels. According to the Regional Environmental Health Director of the Savannah Region, Alhaji Adam Wahab, the WASH in DPC programme has imparted a lot of people and has heightened people’s understanding of the occurrence of flood and how to prepare for it even at the individual family level. He explained that the Region has also benefited a lot from the programme in terms of the training received to be able to provide technical backstopping for ensuring the construction of WASH facilities that are resilient and can stand the test of time.

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28 July 2021

UNDP supports waste management innovations in schools

The waste innovation challenge, which was organized under the Ghana Waste Recovery Platform, aimed to support young people in Ghana to develop innovative solutions for waste management towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). St. Catherine Senior High School, from Agbakope in the Volta Region, emerged winners of the competition and received $4,000 dollars to support their project, which seeks to empower students and teachers to manage domestically generated waste. Also, sewage from the students’ bathhouse will be connected to a receptacle and later used to irrigate the school garden and promote tree-planting projects in the school. Moreover, solid waste materials will be transferred from the school’s kitchen and compound into a compost pit to serve as manure, and this will be used to support the growth of plants in the school’s premises. First runner up, Obuasi Senior High Technical School was awarded 3,000 US dollars for the design of a working prototype of a solar powered contactless waste segregation bin to encourage reuse and recycling. With an innovative idea to build an automatic waste sorting bin to make separation of waste easier and enable efficient recycling, the Methodist Senior High School, the third winner, was awarded 2,000 US dollars. The young innovators excitedly received their awards with cheers and thanked UNDP and the Coca Cola Foundation for the support. “Winning this is a dream that has come true. We are now ready to implement this project and grateful for this opportunity”, said Essien Rita, one of the students from the St Catherine Senior High School. The Head of Environment and Climate Cluster at UNDP Ghana, Paolo Dalla Stella encouraged young people to play an active role in waste management. “Engaging young people in sustainable waste management will positively impacts their attitudes and behaviors, so they can adopt and promote environmentally friendly practices in their schools and homes,” he stated. The Innovative Solutions for Waste Management Challenge was a competition for second cycle schools and aimed to promote awareness on the challenges of waste, solutions for integrated waste management, segregation at source especially at the household level and how individuals, institutions, schools, corporations, government and civil society can get involved to promote sustainable waste management. The challenge received over 30 entries amongst which Aburi Girls’ Senior High School and Cape Coast Technical Institute emerged fourth and fifth respectively.

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02 July 2021

IOM and partners leverage the power of sports to empower Ghanaian youth to be resilient

To leverage the educational power of basketball to equip the youth with life skills and to be self-resilient, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and partners have renovated a basketball court at the GaMashie Development Agency for the youth of Jamestown. The renovation is part of a project titled “Playground”, created to empower young people to create viable alternatives to irregular migration. Jamestown is one of the oldest communities located on the coast of Accra. It is the home of the James Fort, built by the British as a trading post in 1673. Jamestown is a busy fishing community with markets, homes and colonial architecture of the James Fort inherent to the current socio-economic urban network. In a press release issued in Accra, IOM notes that the Playground project was made possible through the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration, funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. The renovation of the basketball court in Jamestown is a joint initiative of IOM, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the Delegation of the European Union to Ghana, the Sports for Education and Economic Development (SEED) Project and DUNK Grassroots, “Using basketball as a vehicle to foster life skills, is a fantastic approach that will be beneficial for the youth of Jamestown and neighbouring communities. Our youth has a lot of potential, and they need safe spaces to grow and thrive,” said the Mayor of Accra, Honourable Mohammed Adjei Sowah. “Playground has the youth and community at its heart. We work with our partners to inform about safe migration options as well as the dangers of irregular migration,” said Abibatou Wane-Fall, Chief of Mission IOM Ghana. She added: “Together, we bring the vision of an open and inclusive space to life – a space for girls and boys, young women and young men, from all walks of lives and backgrounds, migrants, returnees, neighbours, and locals. Everyone is invited to play and learn and grow together.” The Playground project partners work together to empower young people to make well-informed migration choices, to decide on their own futures and to build their dreams. Together with local partners, it builds a culture of self-development and pride on and beyond the court. “Ensuring youth have access to safe places to play is fundamental, as it’s the place where all the life skills programmes, games and community outreach occur – it all begins on the court,” explained Mactar NDiaye, Director of Operations, SEED Project. “This is why we at SEED are incredibly honored to have worked on the ground with the community of Jamestown to refurbish this basketball court, which also helps better secure their actual needs and ownership.”

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Press Release

12 August 2021

Ghana: Anti-LGBTI draft bill a “recipe for violence” – UN experts

“The draft legislation argues that any person who deviates from an arbitrary standard of sexual orientation or gender identity is immediately to be considered dangerous, sick or anti-social,” said the experts. “Such laws are a textbook example of discrimination. “The proposed law promotes deeply harmful practices that amount to ill-treatment and are conducive to torture, such as so-called ‘conversion therapy’ and other heinous violations like unecessary medical procedures on intersex children, and so-called corrective rape for women,” they added. The independent experts, appointed by the Human Rights Council, presented an analysis of the draft bill to the Ghanaian Government, concluding that adopting the legislation in its current or any partial form would be tantamount to a violation of a number of human rights standards, including the absolute prohibition of torture. Read further.

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Press Release

07 June 2021

Businesses may need more time and support to recover from COVID-19, as 16000 estimated agribusinesses remain closed in Ghana - new survey reveals.

The survey results released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), collected data from about 8,000 agribusinesses across Ghana. The findings reveal an increase in the estimated number of job losses for agribusiness workers, from 51,111 during the lockdown to 78,412 in the post-lockdown period. In the same vein, workers with reduced wages increased from 175,255 during the lockdown period to 267,211 within May 2020 and January 2021. “The Agribusiness Tracker builds on the COVID-19 Business Tracker and this is to enable us compare the data over time. This way, we are better positioned to inform Government and key stakeholders on the changes over time. We believe this panel data will guide the implementation of the Government’s Ghȼ100 billion COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprise Support (Ghana CARES) Programme, seeking to enable the economy to recover”, noted Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, Government Statistician. The data also show slow demand for goods and services for most agribusinesses, with over 77,000 firms (61.5) reporting a decline in sales within the post-lockdown period under review. This implies that, though there is some improvement after the lock-down restriction (from 84,869 to 77,254 agribusiness firms reporting sales decline), agribusinesses are yet to recover to the level seen prior to the coronavirus pandemic. For example, sales growth was 30.2% prior to the pandemic, 10.7% during the lockdown and 15.4% after the lifting of the restriction. Similarly, despite some improvement in inputs supply post-lockdown, about half of agribusiness firms (45.9%) still have challenges in getting supply inputs. The regional distribution shows that the Greater Accra region is the most impacted, with almost three out of ten firms (28%) reporting input supply challenges. Even though the drift in policy is relatively slow, as much as 8% of firms have started sourcing from domestic sources. “Data is very critical in helping Ghana recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. This Agribusiness Tracker results will therefore help businesses in the recovery process, as the data will not only inform policy on building back better, but doing so inclusively”, noted Charles Abani, UN Resident Coordinator for Ghana. However, there are some positive trends, as digital technology is beginning to play a significant role in the operations of firms, with almost 9 out of 10 firms leveraging digital platforms including social media to market their products. Similarly, mobile money and door-to-door delivery via courier services, and internet usage for business operations also increased, with about 8 in 10 firms (77%) increasing the use of the internet in marketing compared to 19% percent during the lockdown period. It is heartwarming to know that using digital technologies to transform data into action is at the heart of Ghana’s COVID-19 response and recovery. It will be important to consolidate this gain through the effective implementation of the National Data Roadmap process to ensure equity and the protection of more businesses”, emphasized Dr. Angela Lusigi, Resident Representative of UNDP in Ghana. Also, though increase in access to finance is yet to get to pre-pandemic level (22.5%), this has marginally increased from about 12% during the lock-down to 14% post-lockdown. Despite the slight increase, three in ten agribusinesses reported decrease in accessing finances mainly due to high interest rate. The COVID-19 Agribusiness Tracker survey also enquired about the level of awareness among the firms on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, which is expected to provide a single market for goods and services in Africa. The findings suggest a low awareness level, with only one in four agribusiness firms knowing about the AfCFTA. The top three support the firms need to participate in AfCFTA include increased information on business opportunities, reduced cost of credit, and removal of policy or regulatory bottlenecks. “Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the economy. Agribusinesses especially, have great potential in Ghana with hard-working entrepreneurs needing support to un-lock their opportunities”, noted Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, Country Director GIZ Ghana. Kindly access the COVID-19 Agribusiness Tracker summary report here or bit.ly/3z9oxs3.

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Press Release

25 May 2021

Two Ghanaian peacekeepers to be honoured Posthumously during the 2021 International Day of UN Peacekeepers’ ceremony at UN Headquarters

UN Headquarters will observe the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on Thursday, 27 May 2021. Secretary-General António Guterres will lay a wreath to honour the more than 4,000 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948 and will preside over a ceremony at which the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be awarded posthumously to 129 military, police and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their life serving under the UN flag last year and in the first month of this year. Among the fallen peacekeepers to be honoured posthumously are two from Ghana: WO1 Patrick Ackah who served with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL); and Mr. Emmanuel Mac Kwasi Dorbi who served in a civilian capacity with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The two Ghanaians will be honoured at a ceremony to be presided over by the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres in New York on 27 May 2021 as part of events marking the 2021 International Day of UN Peacekeepers. Ghana is the 10th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping. It currently deploys nearly 2,300 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Mali, the Middle East, Somalia, South Sudan and the Western Sahara. During the ceremony, the Secretary-General will also award the ‘2020 Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award’ to Major Steplyne Buyaki Nyaboga a Kenyan military officer who served with the African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur, (UNAMID). Created in 2016, the Award “recognises the dedication and effort of an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.” In Ghana, a virtual youth engagement will be held in commemoration of the Day. Tributes will be paid to Ghanaian peacekeepers serving to ensure the maintenance and sustenance of peace and those who have lost their lives in the cause. Participants at the virtual event will interact with two young Ghanaian peacekeepers serving with the UNIFIL. They will share their experiences with the goal of inspiring young people to champion the cause for peace and security. To participate in this event, please register here: http://bit.ly/UNinGhana In a message to mark the Day, the Secretary-General said of the fallen peacekeepers: “Their service and sacrifices will never be forgotten.” He further said: “I express my deep gratitude to the 85,000 civilian, police and military personnel currently deployed in some of the world’s most challenging hotspots to protect the vulnerable and help to build peace. Despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, as well as the risk of infection, these men and women have pursued their mission while also supporting local authorities in the fight against COVID-19. I offer sincere condolences to the families of peacekeepers who have fallen victim to this terrible disease.” The theme for this year’s observance is “The road to a lasting peace: Leveraging the power of youth for peace and security.” Tens of thousands of young peacekeepers deployed around the world play a key role in helping UN missions implement their mandated activities, with the active participation of young people from host communities. Across our missions, peacekeepers collaborate with youth to reduce violence and sustain peace, including through DDR and Community violence reduction programmes. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, said: “We salute the dedication and bravery of our peacekeepers, who serve and perform admirably in challenging environments only compounded by the ongoing pandemic. I also honor our young peacekeepers who bring energy and innovation, and serve as role models to youth populations working tirelessly to ensure meaningful representation and participation in political processes.” He added: “Our peacekeepers deserve our full support, and we must continue to work together to do all we can to improve their safety and security and give them the tools to succeed.” The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was established by the General Assembly in 2002, to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace. The General Assembly designated 29 May as the International Day of UN Peacekeepers in commemoration of the day in 1948 when the UN’s first peacekeeping mission, the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations in Palestine. Since then, more than 1 million women and men have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations, directly impacting millions of people, and saving countless lives. Today, UN Peacekeeping deploys more than 89,000 military, police and civilian personnel in 12 operations.

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