Ghana

Ghana is rich in natural resources and has one of the strongest emerging economies in Africa. The capital city, Accra, is one of the wealthiest and most modern cities on the continent, and is experiencing a period of rapid growth. Ghana is rapidly urbanising. Despite this, most of Ghana’s poor live in rural areas without basic services such as health care and clean water. Small-scale farmers, who are affected most by rural poverty in Ghana, depend on outdated farming tools and lack access to improved seeds and fertilisers to increase crop yields.

Our Work in Ghana

The Hunger Project has been working in Ghana since 1995 and is empowering 250,000 partners in 49 epicentre communities to end their own hunger and poverty. Through its integrated approach to rural development, the Epicentre Strategy, The Hunger Project is working with people on the ground to successfully access the basic services needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and lead lives of self-reliance.

Scaling-Up the Epicentre Strategy

Ghana is the first country in which The Hunger Project is scaling up its Epicentre Strategy to provide coverage to a set geographical area and reach significantly more people. In July 2006, The Hunger Project received a US$5 million investment to scale-up Hunger Project work in the Eastern Region of Ghana. By the end of the five-year commitment, The Hunger Project-Ghana aims to have mobilised enough epicentre communities so that each villager in the Eastern Region is within walking distance of an epicentre building.

By the end of the fourth year of its scale-up programme, The Hunger Project-Ghana had successfully completed construction of 22 epicentres. Scaling-up has presented a number of challenges to The Hunger Project-Ghana, such as acquisition of land and the mobilisation of construction materials. Our staff, however, is equipped with the training and skills to continue to mobilise partners to end their own hunger in the Eastern Region.

Empowering Women

The Hunger Project-Ghana has pioneered the Women’s Empowerment Programme (WEP), which empowers women to become strong leaders in their households and communities. The WEP is a series of workshops that focus on legal, civic and reproductive health rights as well as leadership skills for selected women. The trained women, also known as “animators,” then carry out community-based educational activities using drama, mini-lectures and discussions. These animators are also trained to provide counselling and distribute non-prescriptive contraceptives.

Microfinance

In Ghana, The Hunger Project has distributed US$405,785 in microloans to 14,785 people, with an average loan size of $68. There are three government-recognised rural banks that are operating in three self-reliant epicentre communities.

Meet Naana our Country Director in Ghana, learn more about the key initiatives that are empowering people to end their own hunger or take action now and get involved