Northern Regional Minister solicits support from Japanese Government

The Northern Regional Minister, Honourable Shani Alhassan Shaibu has appealed to the Ambassador of Japan, His Excellency Hisanobu Muchizuki to facilitate more support from Japan to enhance development in the Northern part of the country.

He made this appeal during a courtesy call made to him by the Ambassador at the Northern Regional Coordinating Council on Wednesday, 20 April 2022.

According to him, creating jobs for the youth in the region is dear to his heart, thus he would be glad if the Government of Japan establish factories in the region to create more jobs for the teaming youth.

Honorable Shaibu on behalf of the chiefs and people of the region expressed gratitude to the Government of Japan for the support they have given to the region thus far. 

His Excellency Hisanobu Muchizuki briefed Regional Minister on the Japanese-supported projects in the region and informed him about a new project funded by the Government of Japan.

The project, which will be implemented by the World Food Programme is to be launched soon at Pishigu in the Karaga District.

He stated that the project is for universal "Nutrition" and Health Coverage through the sustainable system for nutrition improvement, which seeks to ensure quality nutrition and health services are accessible to all through resilience building, nutrition retail/market-based and innovative diagnostic and social and behavior change communication (SBCC) approaches.

“The project is 30 months time frame that covers Karaga District and would benefit Pregnant and Lactating mothers, children from 6 to 23 months, and adolescent girls receiving direct food assistance and livelihood support.

“The project also seeks to ensure equitable access to safe and nutritious foods, promote universal access to quality nutrition and health services and create synergy for behavior-change among beneficiaries through both Health Worker training on SBCC, with special emphasis on dietary diversity and introduction of KOKO Plus, and market-based approach,” he said.

The Chief Director of the Regional Coordinating Council, Alhaji Alhassan Issahaku said the Government of Japan’s support in providing educational facilities such as school blocks has improved the learning environment for children in the region.

According to him, Northern Region also benefited from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) flagship Projects in the Agriculture Sector (Project for Sustainable Development of Rainfed Lowland Rice Production) in the Republic of Ghana. This has increased the farmers' incomes and improved the standards of living of beneficiary households.

“The region also benefited from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project Strengthening Community-based Health Services “CHPS for Life” that contributed to creating a resilient health system that meets the needs of changing demographics and disease patterns cost-effectively,” he added.

He expressed appreciation for the numerous projects supported by the Government of Japan in the areas of education, agriculture, and health.