NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL Non-Governmental Organisation, HATOF Foundation, together with the Ministry of Finance and the Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE), has launched a climate financing programme for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country.
The launch of the two-year Green Climate Fund (GCF) CSO Readiness Programme follows the GCF’s approval of HATOF Foundation’s Readiness Proposal for an amount of $442,968.
It is aimed at building the capacity and knowledge management of 10 Ghanaian CSO networks to efficiently participate in the nationally-determined contributions by engaging the national designated authority, direct access entities and GCF on the project design, selection, budget preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Project Coordinator, Dr. Samuel Dotse, speaking at the launch in Accra, said the programme is the first readiness activity targeting support to CSOs in the climate change sector.
He said the programme would develop a CSO-tailored training module on preparing funding proposals to leverage non-state actors’ engagement with the GCF.
“We will also develop a five-year Civil Society Climate Change Agenda and Action Plan and a GCF concept note proposing how this initiative could be up-scaled nationally to facilitate agreement on direction and access to financing,” he said.
He further noted that the programme would build on and maximise the efforts of previous and existing support in climate change capacity-building related initiatives, to ensure that CSOs have access to relevant, up-to-date information about climate change trends and risks, receive suitable training and have enhanced knowledge on climate financing and paradigm shift strategies.
The national designated authority (NDA) for GCF, Adwoa Faikue, Principal Economics Officer at the Ministry of Finance, who launched the programme, said the readiness programme has helped the country to have an accredited entity for the transfer of funds for climate adaptation activities.
She said about 11 climate change proposals have been sent to the GCF for funding adding that about eight have so far been approved.
Mrs. Faikue disclosed that the CSOs Readiness Programme is the 5th readiness support given to the country to raise awareness and build the technical support of CSOs.
She said the project management unit has been established and thus encouraged the CSOs that would be participating in the training to take apply for funding.
“This has opened the gates for CSOs to follow suit.
Ghana is entitled to $1 million per year for readiness so you should apply through the Ministry of Finance to help mitigate the dire effects of climate change,” she said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri