Ghana Celebrates 50th Year of Independence
As Ghana celebrates its 50th year of independence, Catholic Relief Services is handing over the reins of its food aid programming to the government with confidence.
Historically, Ghana has been plagued by chronic food shortages, particularly in the dry northern regions of the country. As in many African nations with sporadic rainfall, northern Ghana suffers from long seasons of hunger, which often lead to chronic malnutrition in the worst-affected areas.
Young girls at a school in Ghana eat a meal provided by the food aid program. Photo by Sean Sprague/CRS.
To help relieve this suffering, for the past 49 years CRS has been supporting programs in Ghana that provide food to those most in need — starting with the agency’s first distribution of milk and cheese to schoolchildren in 1958. Since that time, CRS has provided millions of Ghanaians with food aid. Initial programs have evolved over five decades into a wide range of food-assisted development activities, including education programs that help to increase enrollment and attendance by providing students with nutritious meals, and health programs that provide food as an incentive for participation.
“CRS has made a tremendous impact on the health and survival of children, not just on education,” said the Honorable Ambrose Dery, Upper West regional minister for the government of Ghana. Like six of the eight ministers before him, Dery was himself a beneficiary of CRS’ school feeding programs as a child.
With Ghana’s gains in recent years, however, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has removed the country from its priority list for food aid. As a result of this funding cutback, through September 2008 CRS will be phasing out its food aid programs in Ghana, which currently reach 360,000 people. School children will still receive critical meals through the Ghana National School Feeding program, which is poised to continue and expand food aid initiatives.
'The Country is Ready'
“Fifty years since Ghana became independent, the country is ready to directly provide food assistance to those most in need,” explained Jean Marie Adrian, CRS’ West Africa regional director, based out of the regional CRS office in Accra. “Between a more active government approach to food programs and market-based U.S. foreign assistance, we don’t anticipate any major gaps from our phaseout.”
As the first nation in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial rule, Ghana has served as an example for many other nations in Africa. Despite several coups, the country has remained relatively stable throughout most of its history.
A group of anniversary revelers cheer at Independence Square in Accra, Ghana.
On March 6, 2007, independence celebrations in the capital of Accra attracted more than 1 million Ghanaians, as well as heads of state from across Africa and around the world. Throngs of people migrated en masse toward Independence Square, with the colors of Ghana’s flag — a black star on a gold, green and red background — stitched into every imaginable fashion, drawn onto every imaginable surface and painted onto the faces of babies. Read a firsthand report of the festivities.
Continuing Work in Ghana
CRS continues to implement development programs in Ghana that target those people most in need. Ongoing initiatives include conflict resolution programs that address intertribal conflict in the north, support for people living with HIV and AIDS, water and sanitation projects to improve community health, and agribusiness programs. CRS is also actively pursuing additional funding to support child survival programs aimed at immunization, nutrition and neonatal care.
As Ghanaians celebrate the 50th anniversary of their country’s independence, CRS salutes the nation’s progress. CRS remains fully committed to delivering ongoing support as its own 50th anniversary of service in Ghana approaches and into the future.
