6 June 2013: The World Bank has approved a US$155 million International Development Association (IDA) grant to Ghana, aimed to provide access to better sanitation and water supply services to over 3.6 million people living around the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), while improving the management and use of natural resources.

The grant is divided in two parts. The first part, US$150 million, aims to support the GAMA Sanitation and Water Project, a five-year programme built to improve sanitation and water access to low-income residents in the GAMA. Beyond the promotion of a participatory engagement of the community, this project also works closely with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with the objective of boosting private sector engagement, including in relation to collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater and septic sludge.

The second part of the grant, US$5 million, provides technical assistance to the Natural Resources and Environmental Governance project, which improves the capacity of government agencies to plan, manage and use natural resources in selected sectors prioritized through the first phase of the Ghana Natural Resources and Environmental Governance (NREG) Program, between 2008 and 2012. [World Bank Press Release] [World Bank Ghana- Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project] [NGRE Program]