The “Improving Framework Conditions for Reducing Marine Litter and Pollution in Greater Accra Region” project will be implemented in Ghana thanks to a $1.5 million funding from the World Bank.

A multi-donor trust fund partnership known as PROBLUE, which promotes integrated and sustainable economic growth in ocean health, provided the funding for the project.

Mr. Dhruval Sahai, the World Bank’s acting country manager, made these remarks yesterday in Accra at a one-day workshop aimed at enhancing the regulatory framework for lowering marine litter and pollution in the Greater Accra Region.

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The project team’s attempts to draw in international expertise and learn more from stakeholders on actions to combat plastic pollution led to the organization of the workshop.

According to Mr. Sahai, Ghana has achieved significant improvements in its collection and treatment of plastic trash and is now serving as a model for how other nations might get closer to a circular economy.

He stated that the World Bank’s twin goals of eradicating extreme poverty and fostering shared prosperity in an equitable and sustainable manner were in line with the project because the pollution from plastic threatened the goals by endangering public health through increased flooding risks brought on by clogged drains in addition to negatively impacting livelihoods like fisheries and the tourism sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which had caused a rise in single-use plastics that strained waste management efforts, further demonstrated the need to address the plastic issue, according to the World Bank Country Director.

He added that supporting countries in addressing plastic waste was a step forward in meeting the twin goals, with Ghana benefiting from a number of projects.

One of the projects, according to him, is the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, a $200 million investment project that aims to improve solid waste management and infrastructure in order to reduce the amount of solid waste—including plastics—flowing into the Odaw River Basin.

“More recently another project is in preparation under the West Africa Coastal Areas Programme, known as WACA which will involve targeted interventions to tackle plastic pollution,” he emphasized.