RESILIENCE IN NORTHERN GHANA SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING (RINGSSII)

The Resilience in Northern Ghana System Strengthening (RING11SS) is a comprehensive initiative aimed at enhancing nutrition, health, and resilience among women of reproductive age and children under five years of age in the Gushegu Municipality. Implemented by Abt Associates in collaboration with URBANET Ghana, this program is designed to address key focus areas outlined by Abt Associates. The project will engage the Gushegu Municipal and District Health Directorate, stakeholders in 10 selected communities of implementation, and train 28 frontline health staff on Community-Based Growth Promotion (CBGP).

Sponsors

USAID

Target

* Children under 5 years
* Women of reproductive age

Project Area

Gushegu Municipality, Northern Region

Key Focus Area

*Increasing breastfeeding rates
*Increasing dietary diversity and meal frequency among children between 6 and 23 months
*Reducing the prevalence of anaemia, underweight, and wasting among children under 5 years and women of reproductive age.

GREATER RURAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN 2 (GROW2) PROJECT

The Greater Rural Opportunities for Women II (GROW2) Project is a women-focused project that has been established to increase the economic and social empowerment of Women Smallholder Farmers (WSHFs), entrepreneurs, and agribusinesses within the Northern Region. The project is being implemented by the Mennonite Economic Development Association (MEDA) in partnership with Key Facilitating Partners (KFPs) identified locally. The goal of the project is to; increase the economic and social empowerment of women smallholder farmers (WSHFs), entrepreneurs, and agribusinesses in Northern Ghana. This goal is to be achieved through the attainment of three major outcomes:

  • Improve business environments under which WSHFs, entrepreneurs and agribusinesses operate,
  • Increase adoption and use of environmentally sustainable farming and nutrition practices, and 
  • Promote the gender-equitable participation of women in decision-making.

The project will be implemented through a Market-systems approach, leveraging existing structures and developing new relationships that ensure access to products and services for WSHFs for economic and social empowerment. 

As a KFP, URBANET will be working with selected MMDAs within the Northern and some parts of the Savannah Region to mobilise WSHFs at the community level for project activities in the areas of nutrition, advocacy on land access, and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI). Key among the activities are:

  • Mobilisation of Savings and Loan Groups (SLGs) and other project clients
  • Implementation of project interventions,
  • Advocacy, and 
  • Monitoring and impact measurements

Donor

Global Affairs Canada (GAC)

Duration

5 Years (October 2021 to September 2026)

Project Area

Northern and Savannah Regions. (Tamale Metro, Savelugu Municipal, Nanton District, East Gonja, North-East Gonja, Central Gonja, and North Gonja)

GENERATING REVENUE AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN TO IMPROVE NUTRITION IN GHANA (GROWING) PROJECT

The GROWING project seeks to provide support for women farmers in selected food value chains through the provision of climate-resilient seeds and climate-smart farming techniques, as well as means of assessing the market. The project aims to improve the nutritional health of women and young children by identifying the key macronutrients that are missing in existing diets and innovative ways of getting the most out of crops. The project will be implemented in six districts/municipal areas within the Northern, North East, and Savannah Regions. The project is expected to, by the end of its implementation, ensure that at least 40,000 urban consumers have access to nutritious food promoted by GROWING.

Target

* Pregnant women
*Lactating mother with children under the age of five.

Donor

Global Affairs Canada (GAC)

Duration

5 Years

Implementers

* CARE International
* CIP International Potato Centre

Implementing partners

1. Ghana Health Service (GHS)
2. Women in Agriculture Ghana (WIAD)
3. Local Non-Government Organisations
4. URBANET Ghana
5. Sung Foundation
6. RAINS
7. Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Extension

WOMEN'S INNOVATION FOR SUSTAINABLE ENTERPRISES (WISE) PROJECT

The WISE project is a four-year project implemented by Plan International Ghana, URBANET and WIDO as well as private sector stakeholders. The project seeks to enhance economic empowerment, well-being and inclusive economic growth for women in Ghana.

The WISE Project will focus on setting up and expanding both micro and small-enterprises led by women; it will aim to attract private sector partners to support climate-smart agriculture and green business opportunities, while reducing environmental impacts and addressing climate stresses. At the core, this integrated package of interventions – from foundational life skills and financial education to technical and entrepreneurship support while addressing gender inequalities at the household, community and institutional levels – will create a gender-responsive ecosystem for the meaningful economic engagement of Ghanaian women to improve not only their condition but also their position as economic actors.

Taking a highly participatory and local approach, the project will ‘crowd-in’ existing service providers and stakeholders through an inclusive, innovative and gender-transformative hub model. The project strategically opted to support women-owned businesses to leverage the presence of an existing large number of women entrepreneurs in Ghana.

In parallel to developing a suite of women-friendly business services, the Project will tackle the local root causes of gender inequalities to empower women entrepreneurs by engaging men. This entails identifying, sensitizing and training male champions to promote gender equality among male family members of the target women entrepreneurs. Male champions will promote positive masculinities, social aversion among men to practices of SGBV and CEFM, sharing of responsibilities at the household level, and engagement of women in family and community-level decision making.

Project Goal

Increased realization of rights to economic empowerment, well-being and inclusive economic growth for women in five districts within Northern, Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions in Ghana

Two intermediate outcomes will contribute to achieving the ultimate goal:

*Improved women’s agency to exercise decisions regarding their participation in economic growth
*Increased productivity, profitability and innovation of women-owned businesses

Target

In total, 12,641 women (aged 19 – 55) will directly benefit, with 4,046 of those women receiving targeted support for agricultural and green businesses.

Donor

Global Affairs Canada (GAC)

Duration

January 2020 – June 2024.

MICRO CREDIT PROGRAMME

URBANET established a micro-finance and livelihood security programme dubbed: livelihood empowerment credit scheme in 2007 with funding support by ActionAid Ghana in the northern region of Ghana to help address the gap of inadequate access by the poor but economically active groups especially women and youth in the region.

Project Goal

The aim is to improve on income and livelihood security of the poor but economically active groups of people in the region especially women and youth.

Objects

1. To provide micro credit to small and micro business ventures in the region
2. To stimulate small enterprise development and create jobs for the youth
3. To provide entrepreneurship training for small scale entrepreneurs to enhance their growth and development
4. To inculcate the habit of savings in all our clients