Ghana

The capital city of Ghana, Accra, is one of the wealthiest and most modern cities on the continent, and is currently experiencing a period of rapid growth and urbanisation. Although the country’s GDP continues to rise with oil production, gold mining and other industries, the majority of this wealth is not distributed among the population due to high corruption. As a result, 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 Small-scale farmers, who are affected most by rural poverty in Ghana, depend on outdated farming tools and lack access to improved seeds and fertilizers to increase crop yields.

Formerly a British colony, in 1957, Ghana (bordered by the Côte D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Togo) became the first colonial country in Sub-Saharan Africa to gain its independence. After a period of turbulence, with several military coups, a stable democracy was established in the 1990’s and remains to this day.

Our Work in Ghana

In Africa, The Hunger Project works to build sustainable community-based programs using the Epicentre Strategy. An epicentre is a dynamic centre of community mobilisation and action, as well as an actual facility built by community members. Through the Epicentre Strategy, 15,000-25,000 people are brought together as a cluster of rural villages, giving villages more clout with local government than a single village is likely to have while also increasing a community’s ability to collectively utilise resources. The epicentre building serves as a focal point where the motivation, energies and leadership of the people converge with the resources of local government and non-governmental organizations. Over an eight-year period, an epicentre addresses hunger and poverty and moves along a path toward sustainable self-reliance, at which point it is able to fund its own activities and no longer requires financial investment from The Hunger Project.

There are nearly 30 active programme areas in Ghana, reaching more than 300 communities and over 200,000 people. The Hunger Project has been working in Ghana since 1995 and is empowering community partners to end their own hunger and poverty. Through its integrated approach to rural development, the Epicentre Strategy, The Hunger Project is working with partners to successfully access the basic services needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and lead lives of self-reliance.

Check out satellite views of our epicentre sites in Ghana. See them here: