Ignatius Baffour-Awuah
The government together with the African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched a project to support the country’s post COVID-19 recovery efforts in the health sector and generate livelihood, income and employment opportunities, and private sector development.
The five-year post COVID-19 Skills Development and Productivity Enhancement Project (PSDPEP) is being funded from a grant facility of $31.34 million comprising $28.5 million from the AfDB and $2.84 million from the government.
It is expected to be implemented in seven regions including Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern, Bono, Northern, Central and Upper West and will support health-related skills development in higher education for the ultimate enhancement of the country’s healthcare delivery system and promote technical and entrepreneurship for job creation among the youth and women.
Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah who launched the project in Accra said it was in line with critical government development policy frameworks, such as the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda, Government Coordinated Program of Economic and Social Development as well as the Country Strategy Paper (2019-2013).
This reflects the development aspirations of the government of Ghana as required by the 1992 constitution.
He noted that the PSDPEP beneficiaries are the Ghana News Agency, the Social Investment Fund, the Microfinance, and Small Loans Centre, the Biotechnology Centre, the School of Nursing and Midwifery, and the Microbiology Centre.
The rest are: the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Vocational Training Institute.
He indicated that the project will be implemented in seven regions; Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern, Bono, Northern, Central, and Upper West.
Mr. Baffour-Awuah urged the beneficiaries to own the project by mainstreaming it into their programmes.
That, he said, was necessary for its successful implementation.
Executive Director of the Social Investment Fund and Project Coordinator, Kofi Frimpong, indicated that the pandemic disrupted livelihoods at the individual, household and entrepreneurial levels due to lockdowns.
The project, he said, would, therefore, help to alleviate the plight of those affected.
Desk Head of AFDB at the Ministry of Finance Emmanuel Fordjour said the Bank was committed to assisting Ghana to recover from the hardships people suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the steering and technical committees were inaugurated to supervise its successful implementation.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri