3 Assemblies receive $269,141 grant for projects

The government of Japan has signed a grant agreement of $269,141 with three local authorities for the delivery of an educational facility and two health projects.

The beneficiary institutions include the Jaman South Municipal Health Directorate in the Bono Region, which received $90,340 for the construction of a health centre at Babianiha.

The Asunafo South District Assembly also received $90,426 for the construction of a Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound at Amankwakrom in the Asunafo South District in the Ahafo Region, while the Twifo Ati-Morkwa District Assembly in the Central Region also received $88,375 for the construction of a six-unit classroom block at Aponapon.

All the projects are expected to be completed in 12 months.

The support, which is under Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project (GGHSP), is a Japanese government grant scheme introduced in 1989 to meet the diversified needs of developing countries.

Since 2003, the GGHSP has been paying attention to the concept of human security to provide socio-economic interventions at the grassroots level.

Competitive process

Addressing representatives of the beneficiary institutions at a ceremony in Accra, the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Mochizuki Hisanobu, congratulated the beneficiaries on their success after going through a very competitive selection process.

“As many of you may already know, Japan has been promoting a concept of human security that aims to build a world where everyone can live in dignity, free from fear and want, through the protection and empowerment of individuals,” he said.

Mr Hisanobu said each year, the GGHSP funds support between five to eight projects guided by how a challenge the project sought to address affected the livelihoods of beneficiaries.

He said all the respective project areas and their surrounding communities of not less than 17,000 people were expected to benefit from the three projects.

He said the health centre at Babianiha and the CHPS Compound at Amankwakrom would reduce the distance the people travelled to access primary health care.

He said in addition to the health facilities, Japan would also construct accommodation for the health personnel to ensure close proximity between them and the patients at the facility.

School project

Mr Hisanobu said the school project at Aponapon was expected to save schoolchildren the trouble of having to walk three-and-a-half kilometres to access basic education.

“We are also providing a set of furniture, borehole, and toilet facilities to the schoolchildren to make the learning environment very comfortable for them. I should add that over the years, Japan — through the GGHSP and other economic and social development programmes — has implemented many projects that cut across several policy domains in areas of health, education, capacity building, among others. We hope to continue to build on these partnerships of inclusive growth and development,” he said.

Gratitude

Ms Christiana Akua Konadu of the Jaman South Municipal Health Directorate and Mr Robert Agyemang-Nyantakyi of the Twifo Ati-Morkwa District Assembly expressed gratitude for the support.

In their separate remarks, they pledged to ensure value for money in the delivery and the implementation of the projects.

Writer’s email doreen.andoh@graphic.com.gh