By Philip Tengzu
Zini, (UW/R), July 05, GNA – The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), in partnership with the European Union (EU) and UNICEF, has launched a project aimed at improving the living conditions of forcibly displaced persons in Northern Ghana and strengthening their resilience.
The EU co-funded the €2.7 million initiative dubbed: “Supporting the Resilience of Forcibly Displaced People and Host Communities in Northern Ghana (UNITE)”, implemented by UNICEF Ghana and UNHCR over two years.
It was being implemented in Zini, a community in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region and the Tarikom in the Upper East Region to enhance inclusion and access to basic services for refugees and host communities, particularly women and children.
Speaking at the project launch at Zini, Mr Irchad Razaaly, the EU Ambassador to Ghana, explained that the regional intervention was also being implemented in northern Benin, CĂ´te d’Ivoire and Togo, funded by the EU with a total of €12 million.
He said the refugees’ settlement had brought significant challenges to the host communities, including increased pressure on limited resources, services and infrastructure, which the project sought to help address.
“The EU will continue to play its role on the global stage and in Ghana to uphold refugees’ rights, in line with EU and international law”, Mr Razaaly assured.
Mr Osama Makkawi Khoghali, the UNICEF Ghana Representative, observed that Ghana, especially the Upper West and Upper East regions, received about 17,000 displaced individuals from Burkina Faso, many of them being women and children.
“It’s our shared responsibility, yours, mine, ours, to ensure that those who have fled unimaginable circumstances are met with dignity, compassion and the support they need to pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives,” he stated.
He said as part of the project UNICEF would focus on strengthening essential services in health, education, water and sanitation to ensure that both displaced persons and their host communities thrive together.
Mr Samuel Dzikunu, the Head of Field Office of UNHCR Ghana, expressed happiness that the intervention would provide improved shelter for the refugees, as their current tent-shelter was not conducive, especially during the heat and rainy seasons.
He added that the project would also provide complementary basic education services for the refugee children and to transition them into the Ghana education service system.
Mr Charles Lwanga Puozuing, the Upper West Regional Minister, expressed gratitude to the EU and its partners for their dedication to transforming lives, empowering vulnerable populations, and advancing the nation’s shared development priorities.
He urged the refugees and their host communities to see their safety as a shared responsibility and to be vigilant and proactive in reporting suspicious activities to the security agencies.
Kuoro Abu Diaka Sukabe Ninia V, the Paramount Chief of the Zini Traditional Area, indicated that the community had sacrificed a lot to create a conducive environment for them, including releasing a 200-acre fertile land to the refugees for farming activities.
The Chief also raised concerns about the fragile security situation in the area, which needed urgent attention to safeguard both the settlers and the host community.
The project would construct 1,000 decent-shelter units for refugee families in Zini and Tarikom, improve access to electricity in Zini and renovate the Zini basic school, among others.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensa