Despite substantial reductions in the national poverty rate, Northern Ghana continues to grapple with deep-rooted poverty, as a recent study reveals that 941,706 residents remained trapped in poverty between 2014 and 2019.
The nationwide poverty rate had impressively declined from 51.1 percent in 1992 to 20.5 percent in 2019.
However, this study conducted by researchers including Professor Bernardin Senadza from the University of Ghana, Dr. Dede Gafa from the African School of Economics, Benin Campus, and Mr. Louis Hodey from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, United Kingdom, shed light on the persistent plight of people living in the three administrative regions of Northern (now subdivided into Northern, Savannah, and North East), Upper East, and Upper West.
The study, titled "Escaped or trapped? The untold story of Ghana’s poverty reduction," found that chronic poverty was often linked to male-headed households, rural dwellers, and residence in the aforementioned regions.
Those trapped in poverty had spent much of their lives working in the agricultural sector, lacked education beyond primary level, and were deprived of basic necessities like food, clean water, healthcare, sanitation, and shelter.
Mr. Hodey, one of the researchers, expressed concern over the growing poverty levels in Northern Ghana while the national level showed improvement.
He emphasized the need for targeted efforts to address the specific circumstances of the deprived population.
The researchers called on the government to enhance social protection programs like the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), Free Senior High School (Free SHS), and capitation grant.
They stressed that government policies should be designed to reduce poverty among the most vulnerable and offer assistance to those at risk of falling into poverty.
Prof. Senadza suggested collaborating with non-state institutions to boost economic growth, a factor identified by the study as a key contributor to poverty reduction.
The research, spanning from 2006 to 2019, utilized data from Ghana Living Standard Surveys (GLSS) and the Economic Growth Centre (EGC)-Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Surveys.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta reaffirmed the government's commitment to safeguarding social protection programs for the poor and vulnerable during the mid-year budget review.
LEAP had disbursed GHS169.95 million to 346,019 households by June 2023.
The Ghana School Feeding program's beneficiaries increased from 1,671,777 in 2016 to 3,801,491 by June 2023. The Capitation Grant also contributed to higher enrollment in public basic schools.
The Free SHS/Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Free TVET) programs enrolled 447,396 first-year students in the 2022/2023 academic year, benefitting a total of 1,318,035 students.