Nadowli-Kaleo, Upper West Region, GHANA— On November 30, 2022, the Acting Deputy Mission Director for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Ghana, Mr. Paul Pleva, joined the Honorable Collins Ntim, Deputy Minister of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MoLGDRD) and the Upper West Regional Minister Hafiz Bin Salih, to launch the new $35 million Resilience in Northern Ghana (RING) II partnership. The five-year partnership will strengthen government systems to improve service delivery in health, nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), agriculture, and social protection.
The Acting Mission Director, Paul Pleva explained that “Through this partnership, the Government of Ghana and USAID have a unique opportunity to improve the nutrition and resilience of vulnerable communities in northern Ghana. RING II will help promote transparency and accountability and improve the quality of services delivered by districts.”
The RING II partnership was co-created by USAID, MoLGDRD, Ministry of Finance, and National Development Planning Commission, along with representatives from the Upper East, Upper West, Northern, and North-East Regional Coordinating Councils and the 17 District Assemblies implementing RING II. Aligned with Ghana’s 2016 Local Governance Act, RING II will support districts to produce annual plans and budgets and provide technical support to the RCCs and MMDAs for execution of the budget and annual plans.
RING II builds on a previous successful partnership (RING I) between USAID and the Government of Ghana. In the 17 northern districts in which RING I was implemented between 2015 and 2019, severe stunting was reduced from 12% to 6.6%; 535 communities attained Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, resulting in over 127,000 people with expanded access to improved sanitation facilities; and 3,250 Village Savings and Loans Associations were created that saved a total of $8.3 million dollars and made available loans totaling $2.6 million dollars.
About USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential. USAID's activities and strategic partnerships support Ghana's journey to self-reliance. Our work advances an integrated approach to development. It promotes accountability, sustainable systems, and inclusive development.