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Canada’s Commitment
Results
Country Profile
Canada’s Commitment
Ghana and Canada are long-standing partners in development cooperation. In fact, the Canadian International Development Agency’s (CIDA) longest-running African program is in Ghana. From 1957 to 2002, Canada has provided over $1 billion to support Ghana’s development efforts.
Ghana is one of the 25 development partner countries in which CIDA will concentrate the major part of its bilateral (country to country) assistance.
GRATIS—a capacity building project—
is expected to lead to income opportunities
in poorer areas of Ghana, particularly the north. |
CIDA programming in Ghana focuses on basic human needs and governance and on the three northern regions because they contain the poorest communities.
Basic human needs programs concentrate on access to safe water in rural areas and on improved food security.
Governance programs include enhancing the capacity of local and central governments to plan and deliver poverty reduction programs and reinforce local ownership, while building the capacity of district assemblies and the participation of local communities in the process. Canada continues to harmonize local policies and procedures among other international donors. This should ensure effective programming for the poorest communities, especially those in northern Ghana.
CIDA’s official development assistance in Ghana includes bilateral assistance as well as support for the work of Canada’s multilateral partners and many non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In 2003-2004, Canadian Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Ghana totalled $66.31 million.
 Results
Thanks to a CIDA-funded project,
students in the Yendi area have
access to safe drinking water. |
Work in the water sector over the past three decades has provided 1.3 million Ghanaians with access to potable water.
CIDA launched its first food security initiative in 2004 with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Many important lessons were learned on how to integrate gender equality into partnerships between the Government of Ghana and other donors.
Through CIDA-supported governance initiatives and related capacity-building projects, the northern regional ministers, district administrators, and citizens of Ghana have a stronger voice in the development process. These initiatives enabled local priorities to be shared at leadership forums, which had an impact on decision making at all levels.
Country Profile
Agriculture contributes
to poverty reduction and
economic growth in Ghana. |
Ghana has been hailed as an African economic recovery success story. Working with the donor community, the Ghanaian government reduced the number of its citizens living in poverty by 14 percent during the 1990s. Economic and administrative reforms continue. Ghana has taken a leadership role in its development program, working with a wide range of development partners. Collaboration among the donors is strong and well-coordinated.
However, serious challenges remain. Recent studies show that poverty has deepened among some groups, notably women, farmers, and people living in the northern regions. Poor health, chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, and a lack of safe water and sanitation are common. In addition, environmental problems such as soil degradation and deforestation, together with a high rate of population growth, are straining Ghana’s resources. CIDA will, therefore, continue to support the efforts of the Government of Ghana in implementing its poverty reduction strategy and reducing the impact of these problems.
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