USAID provides package to improve nutrition, Saturday, December 11, 2010 pg 11
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has extended a $3.9 million package to Ghana to improve the nutrition of malnourished women and children in the three northern regions, as well as people living with HIV and AIDS throughout the country.
A memorandum of understanding to that effect was signed on Tuesday between the USAID and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
The USAID support goes to the WFP’s Protracted Relief and Operation which is aimed at providing food relief and recovery for 423,000 people in the three regions.
The USAID fund is expected to provide a safety-net of nutritious support to some of the poorest and most vulnerable women and children, specifically, malnourished children, pregnant women and nursing mothers in districts across northern Ghana.
Additionally, 12,000 people living with HIV and on Anti-Retroviral therapy and their families will also receive assistance over a two-year period.
The WFP representative in Ghana, Mr Ismail Omer, who signed the document on behalf of the WFP, expressed appreciation to the USAID for its effort which, he indicated, would go a long way towards helping many insecure households to improve their nutrition and food security status and make them healthy.
He said “the money will help bring relief to people who have been struggling with floods and the spill over of global food price increase since 2008.”
Mr Omer stated that the money would be used to purchase food items including oil, maize and soya bean from Ghanaian smallholder farmers to supplement the nutritional requirement of the intended beneficiaries.
Mr Peter Argo, the Deputy Mission Director of the USAID, for his part, said his outfit was investing in Ghana’s food security with the mind set of creating the kind of food systems that would, over time, eliminate the need for humanitarian aid.
He observed that good nutrition remained essential to achieve full physical and intellectual potential, adding that “chronic under-nutrition leads to negative impacts on intellectual capacity, educational performance, and productivity.”
He said the USAID, through the US government’s Feed the Future initiative, was driving investment in agriculture and nutrition interventions which would benefit vulnerable populations.
Mr Ago said the USAID support would also increase the sustainable income and market opportunities of smallholder farmers through the WFP’s local food procurement strategy.
According to statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the malnutrition rate in the three northern regions is 13 per cent among children, with child anaemia hovering around 86 per cent.
Under-five mortality is 137 out of every 1,000 births while underweight and stunting levels stand at 22 and 32 per cent respectively.
The Protracted Relief and Operation is also in line with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) which addresses issues of climate change such as reforestation, prevention of soil erosion, tree planting, capacity building and income generating activities that will help sustain other activities.
A memorandum of understanding to that effect was signed on Tuesday between the USAID and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
The USAID support goes to the WFP’s Protracted Relief and Operation which is aimed at providing food relief and recovery for 423,000 people in the three regions.
The USAID fund is expected to provide a safety-net of nutritious support to some of the poorest and most vulnerable women and children, specifically, malnourished children, pregnant women and nursing mothers in districts across northern Ghana.
Additionally, 12,000 people living with HIV and on Anti-Retroviral therapy and their families will also receive assistance over a two-year period.
The WFP representative in Ghana, Mr Ismail Omer, who signed the document on behalf of the WFP, expressed appreciation to the USAID for its effort which, he indicated, would go a long way towards helping many insecure households to improve their nutrition and food security status and make them healthy.
He said “the money will help bring relief to people who have been struggling with floods and the spill over of global food price increase since 2008.”
Mr Omer stated that the money would be used to purchase food items including oil, maize and soya bean from Ghanaian smallholder farmers to supplement the nutritional requirement of the intended beneficiaries.
Mr Peter Argo, the Deputy Mission Director of the USAID, for his part, said his outfit was investing in Ghana’s food security with the mind set of creating the kind of food systems that would, over time, eliminate the need for humanitarian aid.
He observed that good nutrition remained essential to achieve full physical and intellectual potential, adding that “chronic under-nutrition leads to negative impacts on intellectual capacity, educational performance, and productivity.”
He said the USAID, through the US government’s Feed the Future initiative, was driving investment in agriculture and nutrition interventions which would benefit vulnerable populations.
Mr Ago said the USAID support would also increase the sustainable income and market opportunities of smallholder farmers through the WFP’s local food procurement strategy.
According to statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the malnutrition rate in the three northern regions is 13 per cent among children, with child anaemia hovering around 86 per cent.
Under-five mortality is 137 out of every 1,000 births while underweight and stunting levels stand at 22 and 32 per cent respectively.
The Protracted Relief and Operation is also in line with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) which addresses issues of climate change such as reforestation, prevention of soil erosion, tree planting, capacity building and income generating activities that will help sustain other activities.
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