Ghana Country Strategic Plan (2019–2023)

CSP approved at EB.2/2018

Revision 01 approved by the DED in May 2020.

Ghana is a lower-middle-income country with a population of 28 million; per capita gross domestic product was USD 1,340 in 2015. Despite recent reductions in extreme poverty, development gains are unevenly distributed, with major inequality in poverty and nutrition indicators. The food and nutrition security outlook is improving but micronutrient deficiency is widespread, particularly among women and children, with increasing stunting, overweight and obesity.

A 2017 zero hunger strategic review identified the following priorities:

• addressing the triple burden of malnutrition;
• reducing post-harvest losses;
• improving linkages between smallholder farmers and markets;
• enhancing value and food safety in value chains;
• mapping food-insecure populations to improve the targeting of social protection, nutrition security and emergency preparedness and response interventions; and
• building government capacities to implement food and nutrition security policies and programmes

This country strategic plan is informed by the zero hunger strategic review and evaluations and is aligned with government policies, particularly the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (2017–2024), Planting for Food and Jobs and One District, One Warehouse. Through this country strategic plan, WFP Ghana will continue its transition from its former role to one of enabling and supporting the Government.

WFP’s long-term vision includes efficient, equitable, resilient and inclusive food systems contributing to the reduction of stunting and micronutrient deficiencies achieved through technical and policy support for scaling up nutrition-sensitive and gender-responsive social protection programming and public-private partnerships to increase the availability, accessibility and affordability of nutritious foods, including specialized nutritious foods. WFP will work with ministries and private sector actors to improve awareness of good eating habits, targeting smallholder farmers, food processors, children aged 6–23 months, pregnant and lactating women and girls and adolescent girls.

The strategic outcomes of the country strategic plan are:

• Strategic outcome 1: Vulnerable populations including children and women of reproductive age in the regions with the highest numbers of stunted children have improved nutrition status in line with national targets by 2025.
• Strategic outcome 2: By 2030, targeted populations and communities benefit from efficient, inclusive and resilient food systems that support nutrition value chains.
• Strategic outcome 3: Local and national institutions have strengthened capacity to target and manage food security, nutrition and social protection programmes by 2030.
• Strategic outcome 4: Government efforts to achieve zero hunger by 2030 are supported by advocacy and coherent policy frameworks.

The country strategic plan involves: enhancing private-sector capacity and willingness to produce and market affordable and safe fortified nutritious foods; building awareness and demand for nutritious foods through social and behaviour change communication; and on strengthening market-based approaches to enhancing nutrition among populations with purchasing power, and ensuring that social protection programmes respond to the nutritional needs of the most vulnerable. WFP’s public-private partnerships will focus on smallholder farmers with a view to enhancing post-harvest management to satisfy private-sector quality requirements, on domestic food processors to improve food safety and quality and on establishing effective supply chains. Public sector entities will work through the Ghana Health Service on social and behaviour change communications; the Food and Drugs Authority will be supported in its efforts to improve quality checks on fortified flour. The Rome-based agencies will work with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to promote sound agricultural and post-harvest management, post-harvest loss reduction and linkages between farmers and markets. The country strategic plan will contribute to climate risk management by building government capacities to enhance the early-warning system for disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness and response. The school feeding programme will benefit from technical support after complete hand-over to the Government in December 2016.

The country strategic plan contributes to the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies (2017–2024), agricultural and nutrition sector plans and Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17. It is aligned with WFP’s Strategic Results 2, 4, 5 and 6.