Mampong (Ash), Nov 20, GNA- Mr Foster Boateng, Ashanti Regional Officer of the Social Investment Fund (SIF), has said that the issue of poverty reduction was a very challenging one.

He has therefore called for concerted efforts as the nation wages war against its reduction.

This was contained in an address read on his behalf at a five-day poverty reduction and development training of trainer's workshop on poverty profiling and pro-poor programming at Asante-Mampong on Wednesday.

The workshop is being organised by the SIF in collaboration with the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) for 20 personnel from six district assemblies in Ashanti.

The districts are Sekyere West, Sekyere East, Afigya-Sekyere, Ejisu-Juaben, Kwabre and Ejura-Sekyedumase and participants include District Co-ordinating Directors, District Town and Country Planning and District Planning Officers.

It aimed at training and equipping the participants as poverty reduction facilitators to train the various heads of departments in their districts to make them deal effectively with poverty profiling and pro-poor programming.

Mr Boateng said poverty was endemic in most families and communities in Ghana and that Ashanti was no exception.

He hoped the workshop will serve as an eye-opener for them as development workers and partners to equip themselves with the necessary skills and tools that will deal with the problem in a pragmatic way.

Mr Thomas Edward Atakorah, the Sekyere West District Chief Executive, expressed happiness that the government had marshalled all its energies, talents and resources to significantly keep poverty under control and also bring the poor into the wealth creation cycle.

He described as unique, the government's efforts to halt the arbitrary and ad hoc responses to poverty issues. Mr Atakorah said the district assemblies had responded positively to their tasks to initiate, plan and implement projects to reduce poverty in their districts.