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.