Accra, May 13, GNA - The Social Investment Fund (SIF), under the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy project launches its 10th anniversary celebration tomorrow Wednesday focussing attention on its successful interventions in the lives of the poor and vulnerable in society. The event, which takes place in Suhun in the Eastern Region, has earmarked elaborate activities to be climaxed with a dinner and awards night to beneficiaries and SIF's targeted audiences.

A statement copied to the GNA on Tuesday said as at December 2007, nearly 1.2 million people in about 108 districts have so far benefited from SIF's direct assistance.

The aim of the celebration is to highlight SIF's role, its relevance and achievements in Ghana's socio-economic development over the period. SIF is a project funded by the Government of Ghana, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and United Nations Development Programme (UNPD) with support from OEC Fund for International Development.

It was established in 1998 to arrest and resolve problems that arose from the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme SAP and the Propramme of Action to Mitigate Social Cost of Adjustment (PAMSCAD). The statement said: "Indeed 10 years of efficient management of resources and effective operations, is a period of reflection, stock taking, reckoning challenges and achievements as well as celebrating successes with stakeholders." It said SIF offers a demand-driven and flexible mechanism to deliver targeted assistance to urban and rural impoverished communities in Ghana.