Ghana has secured $155 million to aid in the restoration of its damaged coastal regions.

This funding includes $150 million in financial aid and an additional $5 million grant, both designed to address the impacts of natural and man-made disasters on the country's coastal communities.

Mrs. Naila Ahmed, the Programme Leader for the World Bank in West Africa, shared this information during the launch of the West Africa Coastal Areas (WACA) Resilience Project II in Accra.

The project, organized by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), aims to combat coastal erosion in Ghana.

The launch event was attended by representatives from the World Bank, WACA, the Ministry of Finance, Civil Society Organizations, MESTI, and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

Mrs. Ahmed highlighted that 5.5 million people living along Ghana’s coastline face severe challenges, with 80 percent of the coastline being highly susceptible to erosion and flooding.

She noted that these issues were deeply troubling. The first phase of the WACA project had already improved conditions for 27,000 households, making them less vulnerable to coastal erosion and flooding.

“Over 27,000 hectares of natural habitat in the coastal zone has been restored. 4,200 people have benefited from social sub-projects with 75 per cent of them being women,” she said.

The Programme Leader said while the chal­lenges facing coastal communities are signifi­cant, they could be achieved through collective action.

“By working together, we can build a resilient and sustainable future for our coastal communities, protecting livelihoods, ecosys­tems, and infrastructure from the impacts of climate change and coastal erosion,” she said.

Mrs. Ophelia Mensah-Hayford, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), has confirmed that Ghana has received the funds for coastal restoration.

She highlighted that approximately 500,000 people across Africa are impacted annually by intensified coastal erosion, flooding, and pollution. The new financial support is expected to significantly alleviate these coastal challenges in Ghana.

“These coastal disasters threaten the physical landscape and destabilise our coastal community’s socio-economic resources. The situation along the coast of Ghana has further been exacerbated by climate change and this menace cannot be underestimated,” she said.

She said that challenges like flooding under­mined spending on education, health, climate and other developmental priorities, thereby weakening the livelihoods of millions of coast­al dependent households.

“In a country with an economy historically driven by high resilience and natural resources, managing Ghana’s coastal zone environment is crucial for sustainable development and climate resilience,” she said.

The minister said that the project sought to integrate the activities of countries and regional institutions to achieve transforma­tional and sustainable change in coastal zone environment.