The beneficiary Assemblies were Gusheigu Municipality in the Northern Region, and North Gonja District in the Savannah Region.  Mr James Lykos, Deputy Office Director, Office of Economic Growth, USAID, who presented the vehicles to the Northern Regional Minister for distribution to the beneficiary Assemblies, said USAID RING was one of the key projects to strengthen beneficiaries to become self-reliant.

USAID RING, which is part of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future and Global Health Initiatives, works to improve the livelihoods and nutrition of the most at-risk households in the Northern Region, with an emphasis on women of child-bearing age and children under five.

USAID RING’s main goals are to achieve a 20 percent decrease in stunting of children under five years old and to double the incomes of targeted vulnerable households in the north. Mr Lykos said the vehicles would help in achieving the project’s objectives, which were in line with USAID’s vision to promote self-reliance in the countries in which it worked.

He said even though the USAID RING would wind up in July, this year, USAID’s assistance to the north would not end assuring that USAID was currently developing a strategy to implement other interventions in the north for the next five years.

In January, 2016, USAID RING presented 12 pick-up vehicles to nine Assemblies and three Regional Departments in the Northern Region to help ensure the success of the project. Mr Salifu Saeed, Northern Regional Minister lauded the project saying it had positively impacted the lives of the beneficiaries.

Mr Saeed appealed to USAID to come out with more interventions especially in the areas of agricultural modernization to help create jobs for the youth and women in the north.

He also called on Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) in the regions to release the USAID RING pick-up vehicles to their technical staff to use for the intended purpose as they (MDCEs) had now been assigned new official vehicles.