Brussels,11 January2012/African Press Organization: The European Commission decided that starting from 2012, additional support to the tune of 110 MGHS (52 M€) will be given to Ghana to reduce maternal mortality and achieve the MDG 5 targets. This high quality project, has been selected because it aims to deliver concrete results by reducing maternal mortality and improving health care services. The initiative to give additional support to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, to help them achieve the Millennium development Goals, was launched by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso at the UN summit in September 2010.

With the additional funding the European Union will support the implementation of the ‘MDG Accelerated Framework and Country Action Plan' which the Ministry of Health developed to combat maternal mortality. The three key priority intervention areas identified are improving family planning, skilled attendance at delivery and emergency obstetric and newborn care, which will be supported through sector budget support.

With this funding the European Union seeks to join hands with Ghana to reduce the unacceptable high burden of mothers dying while giving birth by a minimum of two third by the year 2015 . This is the statistical target as defined by the MDG on maternal health, but the global ambition is bigger, and the EU is proud to participate to the national campaign launched by the First lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills 'Ghana cares: No woman should die while giving life'.

The European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, commented: "This additional EU support will make a major contribution to the fight against poverty. In line with our recent proposals for the future EU development policy, the 'Agenda for Change', we will invest our money where it is needed most and where we can achieve real results.”

The MDG initiative from the European Union mobilizes additional funding for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries who's MDGs are most off-track. The money stems from one of the EU's main instruments of development aid, the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). It envisages a total extra financial effort of €1 billion.

Background:

The European Union is one of the leading donors of development aid in Ghana. Under the 10th EDF (2008 – 2013), an amount of EUR 402 million is to be allocated to Ghana by the EU. With the additional support of EUR 52 million, total EU aid to Ghana will increase by 12% to about EUR 470 million (equivalent to almost 950 million Ghana cedis) during the period 2008 – 2013.

– APO