Ghana is a middle income country, which continues to face challenges in delivering basic social services and in building institutional capacity.
Ghana demonstrates strong commitments to trade by being at the centre of regional and continental projects and hosting the AfCFTA Secretariat. The EU continues to be one of the most important trade partners for Ghana.
Our priorities
Ghana has made substantial economic, political and social progress since 1992. However it faces many challenges in relation to further development – these include a lack of diversity in the economy, low fiscal space to implement change, residual gender discrimination, and until recently low oil prices and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Environmental degradation is also an issue. In addition, the rule of law is compromised in both the north of the country where Jihadists challenge the Government and in the south by human trafficking and crimes committed at sea.
In addressing these problems, Ghana will work together with the EU and other countries to promote an improved environment, more and better jobs, and improved governance and regional development. A wide-ranging set of supports is envisaged that will focus on three specific priorities: the environment, sustainable development and improving governance at national and local level.
Our programmes
The three priority areas for the Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) in Ghana are green growth, smart and sustainable cities and good governance and security. A total of €203 million will be spent on these priorities from 2020-2024, with 35% going to each of the first two priorities, 23% to the third and the remaining 7% to be spent on support measures.
Green growth for jobs – this priority is in line with Ghana’s National Green Job Strategy which aims for a socially inclusive transition. A wide range of measures is envisaged under this priority including developing the green economy in agriculture and fishing, developing the skills through the education and training system needed for such development, and ensuring the inclusion of women and other disadvantaged groups in these developments.
Smart and sustainable cities – this priority focuses on secondary cities and regional capitals in Ghana. It will support green urban development initiatives, governance improvement and the use of digital technologies to achieve these goals. Efforts to mobilise resources through direct collaboration with EU cities and programmes such as Copernicus are of special interest.
Under Good Governance and Security, we will support actions to engage with CSOs, promote gender equality and efforts to improve taxation policy and practice. Other actions will target migration and the improvement of public services through digitalisation. Addressing illegal fishing will also be a priority.
Support measures and TEI initiatives
The EU is partnered by 7 Member States and Switzerland in implementing the support programme.
As part of our support measures, we will aim to increase civil society’s participation in actions, promote civil society as a development catalyst, improve oversight of the programmes, and overall strengthen the role of civil society in implementation.
Under the Team Europe programme, a significant action will be to promote Ghana’s ability to produce vaccines in the light of its experience with accessing vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic.