Ghana has from 2002- 2012 received a total $ 499 million from Foundation Funding, report by the Foundation Centre has revealed.

The report dubbed: “Supporting Development in Ghana: The Role of Foundations,” which is the first in a series of reports to be produced as part of the Post-2015 Partnership Platform for Philanthropy initiative, focused on Ghana over the past decade has encompassed all aspects of the global development agenda and beyond.

Ms Angela Hariche, Foundation Centre Director presenting the report on Wednesday in Accra during a media engagement on Fostering Commitment and Leadership for philanthropy Engagement in the Post 2015 Development Agenda for Ghana, organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

She said philanthropy was an engine for positive social change worldwide and supports the quest of development of nations like Ghana.

The report indicates that among the foundation’s funding for Ghana, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation accounted for more than half of the giving.

It said the Gates Foundation ranked as top funder based on grant dollars consistent within six of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), while the MasterCard Foundation ranked first in giving consistent with MDG Two and the Ford Foundation ranked first with MDG Three.

According to the report excluding the Gates Foundation, founding giving focused on Ghana totaled $ 230 million during the period, and annual commitments from 2008 forward totalled more than double the $ 7.5 million recorded in 2012.

Mr Bossman Owusu, Communication Specialist, UNDP observed that a series of global stakeholder consultations had resulted in 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed as part of the broader Post-2015 Development Agenda.

He said these goals, which are expected to be adopted in September by all governments, would succeed the MDGs that come to a close this year.

Ms Karolina Mzyk, UNDP Foundation Policy Specialist, urged world leaders to develop appetite to adopt the SDGs in September for it to serve as a platform for economic growth and sustainable development.

Mr Kordzo Sedegah, UNDP, Economics Specialist, said Ghana as a middle-income country must devise new means of generating resources such as philanthropy to fund its development goals.

Dr Felix Addo-Yobo, Deputy Director – Environmental Policy, National Development Planning Commission said in implementing the SDGs, government would build on the success story of the MDGs.

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