Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Fears Rise for Ghanaian Capital's Urban Poor in Ongoing Lockdown

Stacey Knott

   ACCRA, GHANA - As cases of COVID-19 rise in Ghana, and its capital
   Accra endures its third week of a partial lockdown, local NGOs,
   churches and businesses have stepped up campaigns to feed the most
   vulnerable. But despite the interventions, there are fears of short and
   long-term repercussions for more than a half-million urban poor.
   Since 2014, Ghanaian chef Elijah Amoo Addo has been redistributing
   excess food from food manufacturers, distributors and stores to those
   in need through his NGO Food For All Africa.
   When the first cases of COVID-19 were announced in Ghana about a month
   ago, he knew it would make life harder for the already vulnerable, so
   he and his network created an emergency intervention program.
   Amoo Addo says while the lockdown is needed to stop the spread of
   COVID-19, it is increasing hardships for the city's urban poor.
   "The anxiety and inaccessibility to food, nutrition and basic
   essentials keeps increasing, and for us as a non-profit, the little we
   could do is continue delivering hot meals and food boxes to
   beneficiaries affected by the pandemic," he said.
   Amoo Addo said there has been a lot of support for his program but more
   needs to be done to ensure food security in coming months, especially
   if food prices keep rising.

.