West Mamprusi launches community-led WASH and livelihoods project across 100 communities

The West Mamprusi Municipality in Ghana's North East Region has inaugurated a two-year community-led WASH and livelihoods project, dubbed Ting Labginsim, spanning 100 communities. The initiative is a collaboration among Advocates for Community Alternatives (ACA), Spark MicroGrants, Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP), and the municipal assembly. The project aims to bolster community agency, improve access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), enhance livelihoods, and promote government accountability.

Led by ACA's Director of Community-Driven Development, Nana Ama Nketia-Quaidoo, the project will empower residents to identify their development priorities, mobilize local resources, and collaboratively address community challenges. Utilizing ACA's Facilitated Collective Action Process (FCAP), the project will be executed in three phases: community building and visioning, implementation and advocacy, and post-implementation.

Communities will receive a US$8,000 microgrant each, totalling US$800,000, alongside US$40,000 in counterpart funding from the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly. This funding will be used to establish facilities such as clinics, schools, markets, boreholes, processing centers, and community centers. The Assembly's contribution is aimed at fostering local ownership and aligning community priorities with the municipality's development plans.

While the project provides financial support, it also relies on community participation, with residents contributing their ideas, time, labor, and local resources. The Municipal Assembly will offer technical support, monitoring, coordination, and linkages between community priorities and municipal development plans. A steering committee, chaired by the Municipal Chief Executive and consisting of representatives from the partners, will oversee the initiative's progress.