USAID Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) Project

USAID Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) Project: Investing in local government, supporting sustainable change

The Ghanaian government has made impressive strides in government decentralization — empowering regional and local government officials to make decisions and provide services to the communities they represent. The USAID Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) project seeks to strengthen this structure in one of Ghana’s poorest regions by partnering directly with the regional and local governments to support their ability to fulfill their mandates to the communities they represent — and improve the social and economic well-being of those communities (especially women) in the process.

Through the RING project, USAID provides grants directly to local governments to fund the development priorities set by the local officials and communities. The grants are coupled with ongoing capacity assessments and training to improve the local government’s financial management, strategic planning, and more. The project demonstrates the positive impact that investing in and strengthening local structures – rather than working around them – can have on basic service delivery and local governance and accountability.

To address the issues of poverty and poor nutritional status of vulnerable populations, USAID partnered with Global Communities. Global Communities’ goal for the project  is to improve the livelihoods and nutritional status of vulnerable households in targeted communities of 17 districts in the Northern Region. This is being achieved through three complementary project components: increasing the consumption of diverse quality foods, especially among women and children; improving behaviors related to nutrition and hygiene of women and young children; and strengthening local support networks to address the ongoing needs of vulnerable households. Global Communities also seeks to strengthen agricultural market and value chain, promote gender sensitivity and equity, and increase employment generating potential.