ActionAid Ghana shifts focus to human rights issues

ActionAid Ghana has shifted focus of its social interventions from service delivery to advocacy on human rights issues as its basic tool to eradicating poverty in communities it operates.

The non-governmental organization which is working in the Sissala East and the Jirapa and Lambussie /Karni districts of the Upper West Region said, it had adopted the human rights approach because the denial of people rights was the root cause of poverty.

Mr. George Dery, Upper West Programme Manager of the organization stated this during an end of year interaction with media personnel and its stakeholder agencies in the region at Wa.

He said as ActionAid which started operating in the country in 1990 would not always be around to provide facilities to the needy, the best approach to helping the people, would be to empower them to do things on their own.

He said ActionAid spent close to GHc900,000 in its intervention programmes in the region last year, mostly on community education on rights of the people and certain specific projects earmarked by donors.

One of such donor funded projects, he mentioned was the construction of a school block at Kowie in the Sissala East District which was funded with an amount of GHc 95,000 donated by a philanthropist in the United States of America.

He said a book “Action for Change,” which is a compilation of change stories from its interventions in the region, would be launched next year.

The programme manager thanked the Media and the stakeholders for their collaboration, and the support they exhibited during the year, and hoped that the same co-operation would be shown during next year.