SADA- Millennium Villages Project empower rural northern communities

SADA- Millennium Villages Project empower rural northern communities Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Walewale The Team Leader of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority’s (SADA) Millennium Villages Project (MVP), Mr David Sumbo has called for a positive attitudinal change in addressing issues of poverty in the rural northern savannah belt of Ghana. Mr. Sumbo who made the call at a stakeholder’s engagement forum at Walawale in the West Mamprusi District said instead of just giving people handouts and making them dependent, poverty alleviation should be seen from an angle that is long lasting than mere handouts. “Handouts don’t change anything,” he said “As much as possible, we at SADA MVP want to change that phenomenon, Instead of just giving handouts, we want to empower people so that they would be able provide for themselves. I can say confidently that the poverty levels may be high in these parts of the country but the people are not poor. It is just that we are not using the right approaches to get our people out of poverty.’ He said. The forum was used to sensitize key stakeholders, including politicians, heads of decentralized departments on the gains made so far under the SADA MVP intervention. SADA-MVP is being implemented in 35 selected communities in the Builsa South district in the Upper East Region, and West Mamprusi and Mamprugu Moaduri districts in the Northern Region. The SADA-MVP project started in January 2012 and will end in December 2016 Giving an overview of the intervention, Mr. Sumbo said SADA-MVP is the result of collaboration between the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority, Millennium Promise Alliance (MPA) and funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development. The intervention he said is guided by a partnership between the Earth Institute at Columbia University and MPA, working closely with communities, governments, companies, multilateral organizations, and non-governmental organizations around the world. He added that it is explicitly aimed at implementing the Millennium Development Goals and supporting economic development at the local level. He said overall goal of SADA-MVP is to assist a specific population in the rural northern savannah belt of Ghana in achieving the Millennium Development Goals and to help establish a robust local economy that can sustain and extend the progress made during the project. The project therefore hinged on an integrated development model which seeks to address the challenges of rural development, focusing on targeted investments in food production, nutrition, education, health services, roads, energy, communications, water, sanitation, enterprise development, environmental management and business development. The Health Sector Coordinator of SADA-MVP, Dr Samuel Ayamba in a presentation said the project is contributing to strengthen the health delivery systems in the beneficiary communities. Among several others, the Kpensenkpe Health Centre, two staff quarters and the Kunkwa Community based Health Planning Centres (CHPS) have all been fully renovated. He said an order for two new ambulances have been made due to be delivered in June and to be stationed at Fumbisi and the other at Kpasenkpe to support health service delivery. Also, 7, 777 persons have been enrolled unto the national health insurance scheme while 10 motorbikes have been distributed to health directorates in the beneficiary districts. Mr. Francis Avonsige, in charge if the Education Sector said also indicated that some schools in the cluster have been rehabilitated including the Kpasenkpe and Kasiesa primary schools. In addition, 1,000 dual desks, a number of teaching and learning materials have all been procured for distribution to schools in the cluster to enhance the quality of education. The Member of Parliament for Walewale, Dr Sagre Bambangi and his colleague for the Yagaba/Kubori Constituency Mr. Ussif Mustapha as well as the District Chief Executive for West Mamprusi, Mr Adam B, Yusif while pledging their support for the project, also expressed gratitude to management of SADA-MVP stressing that the support would help improve upon the lives of their constituents. -End- Writer’s email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh