Ghana
OVERVIEW
Ghana is a stable, democratic country with a free press, independent judiciary, apolitical military, and an active civil society. The Government of Ghana has pursued a robust macroeconomic reform agenda, which has resulted in a significant decline in inflation and poverty, as well as steady growth of the gross domestic product. In 2006, the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $547-million compact with the Government of Ghana focused on agriculture. USAID/Ghana's program supports good governance, health, education, and economic growth.
PROGRAMS
GOVERNING JUSTLY AND DEMOCRATICALLY
USAID supports Ghana's efforts to consolidate democracy by enhancing civic participation in democratic processes and ensuring that local and national governments respond to the interests of citizens. Ghana's decentralization efforts and strong citizen participation will provide the foundation required to ensure better delivery of health and education services and more opportunities for economic growth. USAID also supports efforts to improve legislative procedures, increase Parliament's access to civic input and research, and strengthen Parliament's capacity to review the national budget and debate public finance issues.
INVESTING IN PEOPLE: HEALTH
USAID empowers individuals and communities to adopt positive health practices, expand access to quality health services, and strengthen institutional capacity to plan and manage health programs. The health program provides technical and financial resources to address family planning and reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, malaria, tuberculosis, water and sanitation, and other public health threats. USAID's health approach is now moving from its focus on national level improvements to bringing more health services to communities.
INVESTING IN PEOPLE: EDUCATION
USAID seeks to increase the percentage of children, especially girls, who enroll in school, ensure that children who complete primary school are able to read at their grade level, improve the management and accountability of school systems, and increase community involvement in schools and education in general. In northern Ghana, USAID supports the establishment of complementary education centers for school-age children, particularly girls, who, for various reasons, are unable to access and participate in formal schools. USAID also provides scholarships to girls at risk of not completing their primary education. Using funds provided by the President's Africa Education Initiative, USAID helps to accelerate the acquisition of literacy by teaching students to read in their local language before helping them transition to English. The school feeding program provides girls with monthly take-home food rations to encourage their families to continue sending them to school.
INVESTING IN PEOPLE: SOCIAL SERVICES AND PROTECTION
The Social Assistance Program focuses on factors that improve the wellbeing and productivity of the most vulnerable people in Ghana. USAID provides food to people living with HIV/AIDS, orphans, and other vulnerable children, and organizes associations of vulnerable groups where they can receive basic care and psychosocial and educational support. Food is distributed in Ghana's three northern regions where 70 percent of the population lives on less than a dollar a day.
ECONOMIC GROWTH
USAID is increasing the competitiveness of the private sector, improving the enabling environment for private sector development, modernizing the agricultural sector, and strengthening the private sector's capacity to produce quality agricultural and agro-processed products. USAID promotes policy reform to sustain macroeconomic stability and makes markets for both produce and inputs, such as fertilizer and seeds, more efficient through trade liberalization. USAID is also promoting reforms to financial, labor, and land policies so that they enhance competition. The program provides assistance to small and medium-sized horticultural businesses to help meet regulatory and market-driven standards and attract foreign investment. Funds generated from the sale of commodities from USAID's Office of Food for Peace (monetization proceeds) are used to support sustainable development projects, such as training in improved methods of agriculture and expanding microcredit to farmers to increase rural income.
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