Nlangmal and the Bicycle: Small Investments Making a Big Difference
Nlangmal and the Bicycle: Small Investments Making a Big Difference By Bethany Davidson,Programs Manager for Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) Project Nlangmal and her daughter Joyce pose proudly in front of the bicycle that she was able to buy with her first loan. Photo credit: Mohammed Ali Ibrahim, RING Project. Not long ago, Nlangmal didn’t…
Read MoreA Community Approach to Preventing Cholera in Ghana
A Community Approach to Preventing Cholera in Ghana Volunteers comb the marketplaces of Cape Coast, Ghana educating stall owners on how to prevent the spread of cholera. These efforts led to a dramatic drop in cholera incidence from 735 cases in 2016, to just 9Â cases since January 2017. Spread by water or food contaminated with…
Read MoreVIP: Milan Bala, Accra, Ghana, Factors Impacting the Effectiveness of Program Interventions
VIP: Milan Bala, Accra, Ghana, Factors Impacting the Effectiveness of Program Interventions 24 May-28 July 2017 Access to water and sanitation are still serious challenges in Ghana, where 25% of urban households live without access to piped water and only 18% have access to adequate sanitation. The situation is similar in rural areas. Global Communities…
Read MoreGhana WASH Behavior Change Communication Package
Ghana WASH Behavior Change Communication Package Under the USAID WASH for Health program, Global Communities worked with government officials and WASH sector stakeholders to research, analyze and design a comprehensive behavior change communication (BCC) package that contains a broad range of materials from instruction manuals to games and radio dramas that educate people on the importance…
Read More“Hetsomi” Means Dignity: Sanitation Innovation Giving Dignity to Ghana’s Poorest
“Hetsomi” Means Dignity Sanitation Innovation Giving Dignity to Ghana’s Poorest Stella Adzonyo with her granddaughter. She says the Digni-Loo has changed her life. Stella Adzonyo faces physical challenges on a daily basis. Unable to walk, she struggles living in a place where accommodations for people with disabilities do not exist. Stella lives in Hwakpo, a small…
Read MoreInnovative Ghanaian Latrine Makes Sanitation Aspirational
Innovative Ghanaian Latrine Makes Sanitation Aspirational By USAID Water Team | This article originally appeared on Medium. Children at Ibrahim Memorial School gather with their teacher, Zainat Boye, in front of the school’s new Digni-Loo. The Digni-Loo was invented by Global Communities as part of the USAID WASH for Health program which is working to accelerate sustainable improvement…
Read MoreSaving Lives with a Little Soap and Water
Saving Lives with a Little Soap and Water New Behavior Change Communication Package Promotes Healthy Hygiene Practices Imagine saving 5,000 lives. This is one of many things that the Government of Ghana and its non-profit and private-sector partners hope to accomplish by promoting improved water, sanitation and hygiene behaviors, like handwashing. According to UNICEF, more…
Read MoreImproving Sanitation in Ghana: A Functional Latrine in One Week
Improving Sanitation in Ghana: A Functional Latrine in One Week Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) has drastically improved sanitation and hygiene in Ghana’s Zangu-Vuga community. Prior to the USAID-funded WASH for Health Project, basic sanitation was a formidable challenge, as there were no household or communal latrines in the area. Community members typically practiced open defecation…
Read MoreInnovation at Work: Plastic Latrine Slabs Address Ghana’s Sanitation Challenges
Innovation at Work: Plastic Latrine Slabs Address Ghana’s Sanitation Challenges USAID WASH for Health Project Providing Improved Sanitation to Households with Disabilities Anani Abeena, a 54-year-old farmer with five children, never knew owning a household latrine could be so easy. Like the most of the other 643 people of Taviefe Dzefe, a community located about…
Read MoreMore Than Something to Drink: Water & Long Lasting Development
More Than Something to Drink: Water & Long Lasting Development By Franky Li, WASH Technical Advisor for Global Communities  |  This article originally appeared on Medium. Women in Ghana are often forced to walk long distances to bring back water for their families. Water is a basic necessity for life. World Water Day is today, highlighting this fact,…
Read MoreA Race against Time: Responding to Cholera Outbreaks in Ghana
A Race against Time: Responding to Cholera Outbreaks in Ghana When Cholera strikes, it is devastating. It moves quickly, infecting people who unknowingly pass it on to others. High-density communities around city centers are often the hardest hit by an outbreak, and efforts to contain the disease become a race against time. Since the early…
Read MoreUSAID 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…
Read MoreUSAID-RING Feed the Future Project Thrives in Northern Region
USAID-RING Feed the Future Project Thrives in Northern Region This article first appeared on Citifmonline |  By Abdul Karim Naatogmah Over 2,000 female beneficiaries of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) Feed the Future mission, have started harvesting 100 acres of orange-fleshed sweet potato cultivated in 70 communities of 17 districts in…
Read MoreLearning Brief 1: Workforce Gaps and Opportunities for Youth in Ghana’s Construction Sector
Learning Brief 1: Workforce Gaps and Opportunities for Youth in Ghana’s Construction Sector The construction sector in Ghana contributed 8.9% to the country’s GDP and grew by 11% in 2012. The sector is expected to continue its steady growth and estimates have shown that it will generate one million jobs in the next 10 years.…
Read MoreLearning Brief 2: Knowledge Attitudes and Practices of Youth and Construction Sector Stakeholders in Ghana
Learning Brief 2: Knowledge Attitudes and Practices of Youth and Construction Sector Stakeholders in Ghana Construction is the back-bone of Ghana’s economy and shapes the outlook of cities, towns, and villages. It is estimated that the construction industry in Ghana contributes approximately USD 500 – 600 million annually to GDP (COTVET, 2010a). In 2012, the sector attained…
Read MoreGlobal Communities Ghana Hosts National Youth in Construction Summit
Global Communities Ghana Hosts National Youth in Construction Summit Two days ago, Global Communities Ghana hosted the National Youth in Construction Summit as part of YIEDIE (Youth Inclusive Entrepreneurial Development Initiative for Employment). The Summit brought together stakeholders from the government, private sector, NGOs, academia and media to discuss how to promote economic opportunities for…
Read MoreOur City, Our Say: Including All Voices in Local Governance in Ghana (video)
Our City, Our Say: Including All Voices in Local Governance in Ghana (video) The Our City, Our Say program, funded by Making All Voices Count, worked to increase citizens’ participation in local governance in the metropolitan area of Sekondi-Takoradi. Working with the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA), the program to improved public service delivery by increasing…
Read MoreIncreasing Revenue for Municipalities: Lessons from Global Communities’ IncluCity Program in Ghana
Increasing Revenue for Municipalities: Lessons from Global Communities’ IncluCity Program in Ghana Building on previous efforts by the Government of Ghana, the World Bank and many other international donors, the Global Communities’ IncluCity program in Ghana, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, helped two municipal governments increase their internally-generated revenue, fiscal autonomy and the ability…
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