He made reference to government’s flagship programmes such as the planting for food, one-district, one-factory as well as the one one-village, one-dam initiatives.

According to Abdou Dieng, the programmes if well implemented will improve the nation’s food security.

He was on a two-day working visit to the Northern Region through which he interacted with the Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed.

He was accompanied by Ms. Catherine Ndong, RBD Programme Policy Officer, and some officials at the WFP National and Tamale field offices.

He visited the Yapei Health Centre in the Central Gonja District, and the Nahdah Islamic Junior High School in the Tamale Metropolis.

Currently, the WFP is implementing two projects comprising the Local food based-approaches to improved nutrition (LoFAIN), and Breaking barriers to gender equality and school meals (take home rations) in the Northern Region.

The organization in a statement explained that, the nutrition sensitive interventions seek to improve dietary intake, and contribute to stunting reduction as well as improvement of infant and young child nutrition that forms part of the LoFAIN project.

A total of 408 basic school pupils in the three regions of the north, are benefiting from the breaking barriers to gender and school meals programme.

This is to increase enrollment in basic schools located in rural communities. The statement further stated that, 30,000 female students in Junior High Schools are also beneficiaries of the programme.

“The Northern Region has the highest number of schools, 276 schools. Each girl who attends school 80 percent of a term, is entitled to a ration of 12kg of beans, 6kg litres of vegetable oil and 3kg of iodized salt.”

The Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed, commended the WFP for its humanitarian services.

He appealed to the organization to help government build more warehouses to forestall the perennial harvest and post harvest losses.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The project, known as “Enhanced Nutrition and Value Chain” (ENVAC) is being implemented with funding from Global Affairs Canada.

It offers an innovative market-based approach to tackling malnutrition and under it about 10,000 smallholder maize, soybean, cowpea, and millet farmers in five regions – Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West have been targeted to be linked to industrial agro-processors.

[contextly_sidebar id=”hsm6ca5Dik1cp5nLXRUEXG4rzl9fa5mI”]Ms. Magdalena Owusu Moshi, acting WFP Representative and Country Director, said grains and cereals from the farmers would be used to produce specialized nutritious food by Premium Foods Limited and Yedent Food Processing Company for distribution to pregnant, women, nursing mothers and children aged between six and 23 months.

People living with HIV/AIDS and on antiretroviral therapy, are also going to benefit.

She indicated that the goal was to give strong support to the government to help achieve zero hunger – the Sustainable Development Goal ‘2’ by year 2030.

She said although significant progress had been made to bring down stunting to 19 per cent at the national level, the condition continued to be high in the three Northern Regions.

One in three children in these places is stunted and faces physical and cognitive challenges which could prevent them from achieving their full potential.

The WFP Director said the success of the project would provide a model which could be replicated by the government and other development partners to achieve zero hunger nationwide.

Ms. Heather Cameron, the Canadian High Commissioner, said the initiative formed part of Canada’s larger effort to promote food security, nutrition and agricultural development in Ghana.

“By working with farmers and the agro-industry, this project will support the government to increase manufacturing and create jobs in the agriculture sector”.

ENVAC, she noted, would help to ensure the availability, affordability and consumption of more nutritious foods.

Mr. George Oduro, a Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, hailed the project, as a bold step in support of the promotion of national food security.

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Source: GNA

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Mrs Magdalene Owusu Moshi, the Acting Country Director, WFP, indicated that under the e-voucher model, WFP has contracted local businesses to supply the food rations to the girls.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9eOtrD3F0ZQPmF9BaCRcYX69FH850nAF”]She explained that this would stimulate trade when cash is injected into the local economies and provides opportunities for food suppliers to expand their businesses.

Mrs Moshi was speaking at a ‘take home rations’ distribution exercise at the Bamvim Presbyterian Junior High School in Tamale.

The ‘take home rations’ programme is a project spearheaded by the World Food Programme, which supports the Government to provide incentives to retain and encourage regular school attendance among girls in junior high school.

Each girl who attends school for 80 per cent of a term is entitled to a ration of 12kg of beans, 6 litres of vegetable oil and 3kg of iodised salt.

The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) has also partnered with WFP to provide Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health for the girls to reduce cases of teenage pregnancy, which is also a factor in the poor enrolment of girls in junior high school.

The programme is currently supporting 30,000 girls in the Upper East, Upper West, Northern Regions and the Volta parts of the Northern Region.

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Source: GNA

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