Accra, June 4, GNA - The World Bank has approved three credits totalling $145 million to support Ghana's budget under the multi-donor budget support (MDBS) framework.

The amount includes an extra funding of 20 million dollars, half of which is earmarked to support the mitigation measures announced by government to address the rising cost of living and to scale up government social welfare programmes at protecting the consumption level of the poor. The remaining 10 million dollars will be used to support the provision of essential inputs, such as seeds, fertilizers to farmers to boost production.

Ishac Diwan, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, who announced this at a press briefing in Accra, said the bank decided to add the additional 20 million dollars in support of government programme to ensure that the poor did not sink into abject poverty. He said under the social protection measures, the government's Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) would receive a boost to reach an additional 1,818 households and ensure that children remained in school and were vaccinated.

There will also be the broadening of the essential community action package in the poorest regions and providing funds to exempt poor, pregnant women from paying the premium for the National Health Insurance, he said.

Under the agricultural support programme, he said, farmers would be supplied with subsidized fertilizer to increase the rates of fertilizer use among small farmers to increase food production and also initiate a public works programme to increase employment opportunities during the lean season.

Mr Diwan said these operations were focusing on accelerating the kind of growth that benefited the poor, improving environmental sustainability for the benefit of future generations, supporting the delivery of basic services, especially water to the citizens across the country, and continuing to work towards better and more inclusive governance.

MDBS is a harmonised partnership framework in which the government and a number of its development partners committed to provide direct funding for the implementation of the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy through the annual budget.

Since its inception in 2003, a total of $1.7 billion has been disbursed under the framework, with over $700 million coming form the World Bank alone, through six Poverty Reduction Support Credits. The credits consist of the Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) which received an amount of $100 million, Natural Resources and Environmental Governance (NREG) $20 million and Agriculture Development Policy Operation (AgDPO) $25 million. He said policy actions under the PRSC VI focused on the implementation of reform programmes to accelerate private sector-led growth by facilitating private sector development and increasing agricultural productivity and exports, develop human resources by consolidating achievements in education, health, and water and sanitation among others.

The NREG supports governance reforms in the interrelated sectors of forestry and wildlife, mining and environmental protection to ensure effective forest law enforcement, improve mining and forestry sectors, revenue collection, management and transparency; address social issues in forest and mining communities; and mainstream environmental protection into growth.

The AgDPO supports recent positive achievements in the agricultural sector, including further diversification of horticulture exports; addressing constraints to productivity of food crops and improving planning and execution of budgets in the sector. Specifically, the programme supports the Government's national agricultural strategy by promoting key reforms essential for the growth of the sector. In addition, it provides support to help Ghana respond to recent rises in global food prices.