2020

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of Ghana’s economy: constituting 70% of GDP and 92% of all businesses. This notwithstanding, SMEs in Ghana face various constraints (including limited access to credit facilities and international markets). A major challenge in a dynamic and interconnected economy is SME’s inadequate access to appropriate information communication technology which, moreover, is a key ingredient for tapping into global markets for business transactions.

The COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to increase global extreme poverty to about 150 million people by 2021. While it is difficult to state the full socio-economic impact of the pandemic, it is envisaged to have adverse effects on vulnerable groups and participants within informal sectors of many economies, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations report that the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is being threatened by poverty, inequality, and exclusion; as a result, the most vulnerable are being further marginalized.

To address some of the challenges facing the agricultural sector in Northern Ghana, USAID/Ghana awarded a Cooperative Agreement No. AID-641-A-14-0001 2014 to a consortium led by ACDI/VOCA to implement its Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement II (ADVANCE II) Activity, as a follow-on to the successful initial ADVANCE activity which ended in March 2014.

About 60% of all newborn infants will develop neonatal jaundice in the first week after birth. In most newborns, jaundice is physiological and clears spontaneously over the first few days, but a significant proportion will require treatment to avoid a persistently high level of bilirubin (hyperbilirubinaemia). Severe hyperbiliribinaemia may lead to brain damage (kernicterus), death and lifelong impairment. It is the most significant and preventable risk factor for cerebral palsy in Ghana.