NewsLetter JULY 2021

HIGHLIGHTS UN provides independent monitoring young people’s businesses support to ’s 2021 Population Supporting the national COVID-19 and Housing Census. UN supports the establishment of a response is core to our development Coordinated Mechanism on the Safety efforts. Youth Innovation for Sustainable De- of Journalists. velopment Challenge gives a boost to

United Nations in Ghana - April - June 2021 COVID-19 RESPONSE Supporting the national COVID-19 response: Core to UN’s development efforts management, logistics, data the fight against the pandem- Ghana received its sec- management and operation- ic. Through the efforts of the ond batch of the AstraZen- al plans, field support super- Development eca COVID-19 vaccine from vision, and communications Programme (UNDP), medical the COVAX facility on 7th May and demand creation activities. supplies from the West African 2021. With this delivery of Health Organisation (WAHO) 350,000 doses, many Ghana- UNICEF conducted three sur- have been delivered. Funded by ians who received their first veys on knowledge, attitudes the German Government (BMZ), dose were assured of their and practices around COVID-19 the European Union, the Econom- second jab. The UN Children’s vaccination through telephone ic Community of West African Fund (UNICEF) facilitated their interviews and mobile interactive States (ECOWAS) and WAHO, safe transport from the Dem- voice responses across different these set of supplies, the second ocratic Republic of Congo. key groups. Per the survey, key bulk supplies to ECOWAS mem- concerns on vaccine hesitancy ber states, was procured by GIZ Since the launch of the vac- are around safety, efficacy and and UNDP. They form part of a cination campaign in March knowledge gaps on vaccination. $50 million support facility to this year, the UN in Ghana, led The Children’s Fund is contribut- ECOWAS to enhance the region- by the World Health Organisa- ing to address these challenges. al fight against the COVID-19 tion (WHO) and UNICEF, have pandemic. [Read more] supported authorities to train Ensuring the availability of health workers on vaccine medical supplies is critical to

Meanwhile, results from a The 9-month project, ehich Government respond to the $3.28 million World Bank fund- ended in April 2021, aimed to needs of food-insecure popula- ed joint project implemented by support the Government of tions, and responding to issues the UN in Ghana and the Inter- Ghana to close critical gaps in of Sexual and Gender-Based national Federation of the Red the COVID–19 response. The Violence and reaching the vul- Cross and Red Crescent, demon- joint project focused on the nerable with services even at strate a progressive outlook with healthcare system, enhancing the heat of the pandemic. Read considerable positive impact of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene the project report which sums the COVID-19 response efforts. (WASH), conducting a food se- up the impact of the project. curity assessment to enable

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UNESCO and ECOWAS have sponding to the pandemic. The video messages are supported the launch of a new produced by the Creative Arts musical campaign to curb the The campaign consists of the Council and feature well-known spread of the COVID-19 pan- release of a song, a music video, Ghanaian personalities such demic in the sub-region. The and video messages featuring as Stonebwoy, Kuami Eugene, joint initiative is spearheaded selected musicians of MUSI- Kidi, Daughters of Glorious Je- by the National Commission GA including IOM Ambassador, sus and Doreen Avio. The short on Culture (NCC), the Musi- Kofi Kinaata. The songs are in video messages have been cians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) different Ghanaian languages aired on radio and television and the Creative Arts Coun- with the message encourag- stations and shared online on cil, and aims at strengthen- ing Ghanaians to continue ad- social media. Read more and ing national capacities in re- hering to COVID-19 protocol. watch the music video here.

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Through the instrumentality of UNAIDS Ghana, three implementing partners have signed a memoran- dum of understanding to strengthen community engagement in COVID-19 response. They are the Millen- nium Promise Alliance (MPA), the Network of People Living with HIV (NAP+1), and the Young Health Advo- cates Ghana (YHAG). The agreement is under the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT) in . It is part of a broader collaboration between UNAIDS and the Africa Centre for Disease Control of the African Union to support Ministries of Health of African countries in their fight against the pandemic.

4 United Nations in Ghana SHARED ECONOMY Empowering young Ghanaians to be innovative and to find their niche business, thanks to the YISD On the economic front, the Challenge, he has built incuba- UNDP is strengthening partner- tors for five clients, with his lat- ship to support young entrepre- est and biggest client in . neurs to be innovative, unleash their potentials and to find their Prince and Sampare Owu- niche. su Banahene are also scaling up their tiger nut drink and bis- Through its Youth Inno- cuit production business. They vation for Sustainable De- have been able to increase their velopment (YISD) Chal- production capacity of 100 bot- lenge, supported by the tles of tiger nut milk drinks per National Youth Authority (NYA), month to 8000 bottles, and we focus on some beneficiaries. tiger nut biscuit from 100 to 4000 packs. Their factory, built Felix Appiah Nyarko has from locally fabricated technol- turned his innovative snail rear- ogy, won them the YISD grant. ing ideas into a profitable and en- vironmentally friendly business The improved production by migrating his snail rearing has also led to an expand- from recycled car tyres and local- ed customer-base, with reg- ly-made-boxes into greenhouses ular supplies to Tarkwa, Ku- built from nets, pipes and rubber masi, Accra and Cape Coast. as foundation. Today, Felix has built 16 greenhouses in Accra, Enoch Keitu and Edmund Amu thanks to a grant award he re- are Certified Medical Herbalists. ceived from the YISD Challenge. They have scaled up their Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) ap- Iddrisu Alhassan Kobga proved herbal medicine produc- has also transformed his inno- tion facility - Kenoch HG Herbal. vative 200-capacity recycled fridge incubator into 3000 ca- With a standard production pacity, making it possible for line, Kenoch HG Herbal has an him to serve over 100 clients, increased production capac- who incubate their eggs at a ity from 25 bottles of herbal lower cost of Ghc1 per egg. medicine per production batch to 2000 bottles. They also cur- In addition, Alhassan trains rently operate two clinics, em- farmers on how to cater for ploying 13 workers. The compa- their guinea keets with organic ny’s certified products include feed and locally made vaccines. Kenoch Bakta Fight Mixture He also prepares and sells or- which is produced to strengthen ganic feed and builds incuba- the body immunity to help fight tors for farmers who want their bacterial and fungal infections. own space, for a fee. In less than a year of his formalized

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The Challenge, held under the Ghana Youth- Connekt platform, aimed to support young people in Ghana to develop and test innovative ideas to- wards the achievement of the Sustainable Devel- opment Goals (SDGs). Recipients of the award grant, 16 young Ghanaian innovators, also ben- efited from business development, incubation, coaching and mentorship programme which was offered in partnership with the Ashesi Design Lab. Grassroot stakeholders sensitized to improve access to Green Climate Fund

The exercise is to engage key stakehold- Human activities such as cutting down of for- ers, sensitize and disseminate information on ests, improper waste disposal, use of fertilizers, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) processes in se- burning of coal and petroleum products and gas lected local languages (Dagbani, Ewe, Ga and (fossil fuels), continue to have a brunt on the envi- Twi) in pilot districts in Ashanti, Volta, Northern ronment. These are leading to changes in average and Greater Accra . The aim weather conditions such as temperature and rain- is to improve the understanding on the GCF’s fall, affecting natural resources and livelihoods. funding process to enhance stakeholder en- gagement and direct access to the fund, to ac- Community engagement and sensitization is celerate climate actions in Ghana. [Read more] recognized as critical to the global response to climate change. In this regard, the National Des- Meanwhile, over 35,000 cocoa farmers ignated Authority (NDA), which is the Econom- (38% females) and about 2,750 extension train- ic Strategy and Research Division (ESRD) at the ers in the country have received training on Ministry of Finance, in partnership with the UNDP, sustainable natural resource and ecosystem under the Green Climate Fund Readiness Support, management practices. This is to prepare the is carrying out outreach at the sub-national level. farmers to adopt climate resilient production practices to mitigate the adverse effects of

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climate change, especially on cocoa production. The factory is a direct result of the strategic grant of US$34,100 (GHS180,000) provided by The joint intervention between the Ghana Cocoa UNDP/GEF-SGP to support and expand innovative Board (COCOBOD) and the UNDP is funded through women-led nature-based business enterprises the Mondelēz International Cocoa Life Programme. The women-led enterprises project is under The project interventions benefited about 271 a special initiative programme aimed at job cre- communities in 12 Districts accross Ghana and fa- ation for women, enhancing food security, pro- cilitated the establishment of two Community Re- moting sustainable utilization of biodiversity sources Management Areas (CREMAs) in Asunafo products to meet international standards, and North in the Ahafo Region and Wassa East in the ensuring sustainable income flow to vulnerable Western Region which are empowering over 60 com- women within the fragile ecosystems. Through munities to manage and take decisions on natural the project, farmers are now engaged in climate resource usage within their enclave. [Read more] smart organic agriculture by preparing and using compost instead of chemical fertilizers whilst growing high yielding short duration varieties UN supports adding value to mitigate the effects of drought. [Read more]. The Korea International Cooperation Agency to groundnut and rice pro- (KOICA) has also worked with UNOPS to procure $2.6M worth of infrastructural and agricultural duction in Ghana equipment to support its Rice Value Chain (RVC) Project. In December 2019, KOICA Ghana Country Office and UNOPS signed an agreement for the Through the Global Environment Facility Small latter to implement targeted components of the Grants Programme (GEF-SGP), UNDP has commis- project. These include design and construction sioned the first Women-led Groundnut Processing management of agricultural infrastructure, supply Factory at Ayorya in the Kintampo South District in of non-agricultural and agricultural equipment and the Bono East Region of Ghana. The factory, which training of operators. As a result of UNOP’s sup- will process groundnut into oil and paste, is an port, construction of a rice milling facility has start- addition to previous support that ensured a more ed in the Central region of Ghana. [cont. on pg. 9] productive groundnut farming for women farmers.

UN supports adding value to groundnut and rice pro- duction

7 United Nations in Ghana SHARED ECONOMY and Eswatini to join efforts to boost diasporas’ contribution to local development sentatives from the Government ment goals, including the 2030 of Ghana (GoG) and the private Agenda for Sustainable Devel- The IOM has facilitated a sector. Leveraging the diaspo- opment and the Global Compact technical visit of a delegation ra’s social, cultural, financial for Migration. Both Governments from the Government of the and human capital for national acknowledged the importance Kingdom of Eswatini (GoE) to development is a common goal of harnessing the valuable po- Ghana, to exchange good prac- of both governments and will tential of its diaspora for nation- tices on diaspora engagement contribute to the attainment of al development. [Read more] and remittances with key repre- internationally agreed develop-

IOM helps build capacity of partners to provide reintegration assistance to returnees The IOM has organized a workshop to build The IOM, in partnership with the World Health Or- the capacity of government and non-govern- ganization (WHO), has also trained 70 officers of ment stakeholders on the reintegration of re- the National Disaster Management Organisation turnees in Ghana. The training was based on (NADMO) on migrants’ mental health and psy- the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for chosocial support. The officers have acquired Return and Reintegration. As part of the EU- new skills to support migrants, returnees and di- IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and saster victims, as well as pass on the newly ob- Reintegration, funded by the European Union tained knowledge to their colleagues. [Read more] Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, the training workshop has enabled participants to provide sustainable reintegration assistance. [Read more]

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...groundnut and Agribusinesses may need more time and rice production support to recover from COVID-19 [cont.]

by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Inter- The RVC project COVID-19 has affected almost nationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is part of a wider pro- all sectors of the economy and agri- GmbH, in partnership with the United gramme being imple- businesses, which form an important Nations Development Programme mented by KOICA and part of the economy, have not been (UNDP), collected data from about the Ministry of Food and left out. New data on the impact of the 8,000 agribusinesses across Ghana. Agriculture (MoFA). It pandemic on agribusinesses in Gha- aims at increasing rice na suggest it may take a little more The findings revealed an increase productivity and value time and support for businesses to in the estimated number of job loss- among farmers in the recover from the impact of the pan- es for agribusiness workers, from Central Region of Gha- demic. The data reveal an estimated 51,111 during the lockdown to 78,412 na. The construction 16,000 agribusiness firms remain in the post-lockdown period. In the works are to be imple- closed, with over 78,000 estimated same vein, workers with reduced mented on two project staff laid-off and more than 267,000 wages increased from 175,255 during sites: a seed process- workers having their wages reduced the lockdown period to 267,211 ing and storage facil- between May 2020 and January 2021. within May 2020 and January 2021. ity in the Gomoa East District and a rice mill- The survey results released by Results from the survey is aimed ing facility in the Assin the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), at guiding both businesses and District. The project is funded by the German Ministry for policy makers in Ghana’s recovery expected to directly and Economic Cooperation and Devel- process and helping build more indirectly benefit over opment (BMZ) and implemented resilient businesses. [Read more] 5,000 people, including farmers, and 30,000 people respectively.

9 United Nations in Ghana SOCIAL INVESTMENT IN PEOPLE UN responds to Government’s request for independent monitors for 2021 Population and Housing Census

Population censuses have periences and best practices Ghana’s 2021 Population been conducted in Ghana at with other countries through and Housing Census (PHC) approximately ten-year in- south-south cooperation. started with counting on June tervals since 1891, the last 27. The deadline was extend- being in 2010. Unlike previ- In a related development, the ed to another week to July 18. ous years, this year’s is being UN has called for the need conducted using a fully digital for inclusion of people out- Through its Population Fund, modality, the Computer-As- side the formal or traditional the UNFPA, the UN in Gha- sisted Personal Interview population such as migrants na is providing independent (CAPI) method. This involves and refugees. IOM has fur- monitoring of the census the use of tablets for data ther engaged key migration process to ensure the pro- collection, thereby allowing stakeholders to establish a cedures meet international for a more efficient data col- Project Steering Committee standards. According to the lection and analysis process. to provide guidance and mon- Country Representative of itor the implementation of the UNFPA in Ghana, Mr. Niyi The rationale for monitoring the IOM Development Fund Ojuolape, about 40 popula- is predicated on the need to project that will expand the tion experts from the interna- closely monitor and provide knowledge on internal and tional community have been objective assessment and international migration to deployed “in response to the feedback on the impact of and from Ghana and ensure government’s request for the extensive use of new meth- migration is mainstreamed UN to implement the peer odologies and technologies in the census process. monitoring of the 2021 PHC”. (innovations) on the quality of enumeration and share the ex-

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dimensions, continues to contribute to prog- 12- month project on RHE ress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the global health goal. begins in Northern Ghana Girls design AI solutions A regional level advocacy meeting of key stakeholders in education has taken during virtual hackathon place to support the delivery of Reproduc- tive Health Education (RHE) project phase II, funded by UNESCO, in the Northern region Microsoft and UNESCO have held a vir- tual Al–Hackathon to engage girls as Artifi- The meeting, organised by Northern Sector Ac- cial Intelligence (AI) protagonists and to wid- tion on Awareness Centre (NORSAAC) in Tamale, en their understanding of what AI is and how to was to outdoor the 12-month project on adoles- adapt to a constantly-changing AI landscape. cent reproductive health and targeting teenage pregnancy, to regional stakeholders and to solicit Themed ‘AI for Earth’, the two-day training their support for the implementation of the project. focused on how AI can be used to better un- derstand sustainability – particularly climate The RHE project is being implemented in three change and biodiversity loss. Five young girls districts in the North East and Northern regions from Ghana and an instructor from National Sci- in partnership with the Ghana Education Service ence Education Unit of the Ghana Education and other stakeholders to adopt new strategies Service took part in the training which exposed to reduce teenage pregnancy and encourage gen- them to AI prediction modelling and techniques, der equalities in Northern Ghana as the number of such as decision trees and random decision for- children that had not reported to the classroom ests, data collection, data cleaning, image clas- following the long closure of schools occasioned sification algorithms and statistical testing. by the COVID-19 pandemic last year is alarming. Review of STI for SDGs UN engages young people Roadmap on HIV A national Technical Task Team meeting has taken place to review the first draft of the In the lead-up to the June 2021 High-Level Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustain- Meeting on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS-Ghana held a vir- able Development Goals Roadmap (STI for SDGs tual youth consultation on HIV to prioritise the Roadmap) in Ghana. Members of the technical critical areas to be included in the Political Dec- task, consisting of key stakeholders from rel- laration on HIV. Participants called for the pro- evant ministries, academia and research insti- vision of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and tutes expressed their views and contributed to Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) to young peo- the 1st draft of the roadmap focusing on priori- ple, as well as the need to increase education tized SDGs (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9), providing STI on Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and solutions in agriculture, health, education, san- Rights (SRHSR) to prevent the spread of HIV. itation, industry and innovation for Job creation.

The HLM was to undertake a comprehen- sive review of the progress on the commitments made in the 2016 Political Declaration towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, and how the response, in its social, economic and political

11 United Nations in Ghana OTHER STORIES IOM and Ghana Immigration Service launch project to strengthen border security contribute to the improvement of regional stability The IOM and the Ghana Immigration Service by strengthening border management capacities (GIS) have launched the project “Strengthening at select border posts in northern border regions of Border Security and Border Community Resilience Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo. [Read more]. in the Gulf of Guinea”. With funding from Ger- man Federal Foreign Office, the project aims to

gender-based violence and complaint mechanisms. Breaking the silence on sex- They highlighted the devasting impact on the physi- ual abuse, exploitation and cal and mental health and productivity of survivors. The workshop was opportune as increasingly, harassment development partners are requiring country im- plementers to have sensitivity training and other No means no! These and other key messag- capacity-building activities on the prevention of es on the prevention of sexual abuse, exploitation sexual misconduct as a prerequisite for funding. and harassment were drummed home to over 30 national and regional executives of the Nation- al Association of People Living with HIV (NAP+).

UNAIDS in partnership with UNFPA, held a three-day workshop where participants ex- amined case studies and examples of sexu- al abuse, exploitation, and harassment as well as key concepts and standards of conduct.

Facilitators throughout the workshop, ex- tensively engaged participants on sexual and

12 United Nations in Ghana OTHER STORIES UN Days Reporters without Boarders, this was largely Ghana has marked World Refugee Day with a due to insecurity, and continuous threat on the public event and the launch of a community cen- lives of media practitioners in their line of duty. tre for urban refugees. The launch of the commu- nity center is in fulfillment of the UNHCR’s policy The Chairman of the National Media Commis- on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Ar- sion (NMC), Mr. Yaw Boadu Ayeboafoh, announced eas. The centre is named ‘BLUE OASIS’ connot- the establishment of the Coordinated Mechanism ing the warmth of the colour of blue and to em- on the Safety of Journalists, an office that would see power refugees to remain zealous and resilient. to the safety of journalists in the country. The office is the official source for filing complaints of attacks Situated in one of the busiest and vibrant on journalists, validating alleged attacks, following areas in the City of Accra, Blue Oasis will of- up on investigations & sanctions and reporting on fer refugees the space to socialize and learn safety of journalists. It is jointly established by the basic trade skills. The Centre will also serve NMC, UNESCO and the Ministry of Information. as a one stop shop for relevant information about refugees in the country. [Read more]. This year’s International Day of UN Peacekeep- ers was observed virtually under the auspices of UNESCO led the UN in Ghana to commemorate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Inte- this year’s World Press Freedom Day with a flag-rais- gration, the UN and the national security services ing ceremony attended by key stakeholders. – Ghana Armed Forces, , and Ghana Immigration The UN in Ghana called on the Government of Service – and in partnership with the UNIFIL-PIO. Ghana to do everything in its power to support a Over 120 youth took part in this virtual event to free, diverse and independent media in the country. interact with young Ghanaian Peacekeepers work- ing with UNIFIL and to discuss the role of youth Ghana maintained its 30th position global- in maintaining peace and security. [Read more]. ly on the 2021 World Press Freedom Index, the lowest attained by the country. According to

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14 United Nations in Ghana OTHER STORIES Ussher Fort Slave Museum and Documentary Centre in Accra rehabilitated In 2019, the Dutch government provided an With support from the Dutch Government, amount of USD 33,593 through the UNESCO/ the Ussher Fort Museum has been rehabilitat- Netherlands Funds-in-Trust (NFiT) for its reha- ed to restore and preserve a part of history. bilitation and restoration. The project sought to enhance the experience of visitors to the Ussher Fort has a rich history of having served museum, as well as strengthen the capaci- as a trade post, slave dungeon, a police post and a ties of GMMB staff and selected communi- prison. Most recently, it has been housing a muse- ty members from surrounding communities. um of slavery that was temporarily closed in 2014. Two years later, on 8 June 2021, the project This historical site has long needed repair. has been finalised.

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UN family joins Green Ghana initiative

The UN Country Team in Ghana joined the people of Ghana in a nationwide exercise to plant 1million trees in the country and make Ghana green. Led by the UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Charles Abani, representatives of the various agencies and staff ensured they planted trees at various loca- tions including office areas, homes and parks. Here are some photos.

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