Ghana | World Food Programme

Ghana has made significant progress in reducing poverty and expanding social services over two decades, but with mixed progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

COVID-19 stalled growth, compounded by the economic impact of the war in Ukraine. Food inflation soared and rising debt threatened the country’s socioeconomic stability. The country has since made efforts to restore economic stability, including through boosting exports.

A total 2 million people are food insecure, while 657,000 children under 5 are chronically malnourished.

The World Food Programme (WFP) works with the Government, other UN agencies and development partners, civil society and the private sector to prepare and respond to emergencies and build sustainable food security.

What the World Food Programme is doing in Ghana

Emergency preparedness and response: In collaboration with the Ghana Refugee Board, UNHCR and others, WFP is providing cash to asylum seekers in Tarikom resettlement centre in the Upper East region, who fled insecurity in Burkina Faso, and to host community members, to ensure both groups can cater for their food and other essential items. We also focus on strengthening Institutional capacity in emergency preparedness and response, for partners such as the National Disaster Management Organisation.
Nutrition: WFP’s nutrition programmes have largely transitioned to social and behaviour change, institutional capacity strengthening, and the integration of nutrition into our emergency, food systems and social protection programmes. In Karaga, a highly food-insecure district, we provide nearly 5,600 women and children with food assistance to improve their nutritional status, along with training on digital finance and climate-smart agriculture to improve their livelihoods. We run a rice fortification project which includes retailers selling foods labelled with an Obaasima seal – the local symbol for fortified foods. Some are also supplied to schools, improving the quality of meals provided to children.
Food system: Through South-South and Triangular Cooperation government partners are trained in post-harvest management which they then teach to smallholder farmers. WFP provides markets for smallholder farmers through the production and export of SuperCereal, a specialized blended nutritious food, for WFP operations in other countries. Women-owned agro processors in northern Ghana have received equipment and training.
Social Protection: Strengthening the national Ghana School Feeding Programme is a key priority. WFP supports digitization of the programme’s monitoring system to improve efficiency and accountability, and a bill that will diversify sustainable funding for school-meal programmes.
On-demand services: WFP provides services for its humanitarian partners, including transport and common services), procurement and logistics), monitoring and evaluation, and data analytics and digital solutions.