Archive for category: Development

Information and stories on development news.

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Lingering Health Issues in the BRICS

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In the coming years, the global economy is predicted to change on a scale not seen since the Industrial Revolution over 200 years ago. For the first time in history, the global middle class will soon enough outnumber the impoverished. By many estimates, humanity will reach this milestone within the next two decades, as the middle class expands from 2 billion to nearly 5 billion by 2030.

The 21st century’s economic revolution no longer springs from Europe and North America as it once did in the 19th and 20th centuries. This time around, the major players in this new game are Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, and China, also known as the BRICS. All four have experienced rapid growth in recent years — the highest of which is China, which has experienced a 10% annual growth in GDP from 1990 to 2009. Among them, they produce approximately a quarter of the world’s GDP while also hosting a quarter of the world’s population.

Yet these countries still have progress to make, especially in regards to health issues. The BRICS contain a majority of the world’s medical-drug-resistant tuberculosis cases and a significant portion of the world’s tuberculosis instances. They also bear the burden of high rates of neglected tropical diseases such as trachoma, lymphatic filariasis and soil-transmitted helminths.

In fact, according to a World Health Organization report, “BRICS account for more than 30 percent of the world’s children at risk with soil-transmitted helminths,” while India “alone accounts for nearly half the world’s population at risk of lymphatic filariasis.” Debilitating diseases such as these heavily contribute to poverty as they keep children out of school and parents out of work.

Where there is big growth, there is also ample capacity for innovative solutions. While afflicted by these illnesses, the BRICS have also made effective progress in treating and eradicating them. In 2012, Brazil initiated a tropical disease program tied to its anti-poverty program after finding strong links between occurrences of tropical diseases and poverty among its population.

India, which bears the burden for 35% of the global incidents of neglected tropical diseases, has also made important strides. Recently, it launched the world’s largest initiative aimed at researching lymphatic filariasis.

China has joined the fight against tuberculosis, which plagues its rural and migrant populations. In the past, China struggled to obtain sufficient data on this disease, often due to the domestic migrations of male workers and the inadequacy of rural health resources. To confront these issues, China recently reformed their health care system in order to reduce the costs of tuberculosis treatments. They also have established a network that helps to identify tuberculosis victims early on in an attempt to provide timely treatment.

Progress on health issues in the BRICs has happened on more than just the domestic scale. As they share similar problems, the BRICs have often cooperated in joint efforts to research, treat and eradicate similar diseases. In fact, the BRICS gather annually at conferences to pool their resources and research in order to meet their 2020 objectives for fighting neglected diseases.

One such example of these recent collaborations is the Delhi Communiqué, which was designed as a joint effort to combat tuberculosis. The communiqué uses each country’s expertise — drug manufacturing in Brazil, pharmaceutical research and development in China, and medical technologies in Russia — to combine their overall efforts.

While bound for economic prosperity, the BRICS have other less desirable commonalities, such as high incidences of tropical diseases and tuberculosis. Yet these flaws have also united them and spurred innovation. With hope, their ambitions in the world of public health will be as successful as their economic achievements.

– Andrew Logan

Sources: Christian Science Monitor,Global Sherpa,NCBI,PRB,Reuters,UNESCO,WHO
Photo: Al Jazeera

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Foreign Aid Successes and the Millennium Development Goals

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Tracking foreign aid successes is essential to understanding how state actions affect the world’s poorest places, as well as dispelling myths about the ineffectiveness of aid. Aid works, and there have been dramatic improvements in education, health and the basic quality of life in the developing world because of it.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established and adopted by all members of the United Nations in 2000. Some of these goals include reducing child mortality, combating HIV/AIDS rates and severely curbing extreme poverty by 2015. While not all of these goals have been met, there has been remarkable progress in others. Tracking progress toward these goals thus far can help fill in knowledge gaps about which aspects of global poverty need to be addressed the most.

For example, the rate of extreme poverty since 2000 has been cut in half (extreme poverty being defined as living on less than $1.25 per day). In about a decade, nearly half a billion people were pulled out of extreme poverty, especially in China and India. Poverty rates in Africa are also expected to fall below 40% this year. A Brookings Institute report estimates that this halving of extreme poverty rates took place as early as 2008, a full seven years before the deadline, and continued despite the global recession.

Foreign aid has also had a huge impact on global health. Another one of the MDGs was to reduce under-five child mortality by two-thirds by 2015. This goal was met in Rwanda, a country which only two decades ago was engulfed in a violent civil war; additionally, child mortality was reduced by one- to two-thirds in the last decade in some of the top U.S. aid recipients, such as Ethiopia. Globally, this amounts to a 10% reduction in infant mortality between 2005 and 2013.

Another oft-overlooked example of foreign aid successes are the health services and products that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provides to millions of people in the developing world. These products and services, among other things, have led to a total eradication of smallpox. One specific example of the effectiveness of USAID health programs is that U.S. foreign aid saves 3 million lives annually in the developing world through immunizations. USAID was also instrumental in providing 1.3 billion people with safe drinking water, and 750 million others with sanitation by supporting the United Nations Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade.

Millennium Development Goal 6 calls to combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The U.S. leads the way in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, having established the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Since its inception, this program has, according to the National Academies Institute of Medicine, saved millions of lives by providing antiretroviral drugs to affected regions. Additionally, the program has served as a proof-of-concept that HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services can be effectively implemented on a large scale, something that was thought to be impossible only a few decades ago.

USAID has also helped affect change in education in the developing world. Since 1950, the rate of enrollment for children in primary school has gone from less than half to about 90% globally. Consequently, literacy rates have increased by a third in the last 25 years. Two of the Millennium Development Goals were to achieve universal primary education as well as promote gender equality. USAID is pursuing these two goals by promoting robust programs that expand access to education for women in countries like Liberia and Mali.

There are many reasons to be optimistic about the efficacy of foreign aid. Aid programs should be subject to scrutiny and review so that they may be made more efficient and target the populations that most need them. However, it is also important to take into account the many foreign aid successes that USAID and other donors have had in the developing world. Acknowledging that aid works is the first step in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

– Derek Marion

Sources: Washington Post, Brookings Institute USAID, World Bank Foreign Affairs, IOM
Photo: International Institute for Sustainable Development

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Ethiopia’s Population Dynamic: What the World Can Learn

 

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In the past decade, Ethiopia has opened its doors to foreign investment. Fashion retailer H&M and Walmart already have factories there, or plan to build them. There are also proposals to build the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which will be a source of hydropower and accelerate agriculture development.

For Africa’s second most populous country, this will spur an economy that has traditionally been state-led and isolated.

These investments have already had positive impacts beyond their monetary value. Due to financial and economic stability, women are now having fewer children than before. Literacy rates are on the rise, and infant mortality rates have fallen by half.

Just over three years ago, the world’s population crossed the 7 billion mark. By 2100, the United Nations projects that the world population will be roughly 9.1 billion. With distress over resources and a changing climate, overpopulation is a growing concern among world leaders.

While the populations of Europe and North America are beginning to stabilize, Africa is still experiencing accelerated growth. The United Nations cites economic development and the education of woman as solutions to slowing fertility rates.

It has already worked in Ethiopia.

The average number of children women have has fallen from 6.5 to 4.8 in just a decade. In the capital, Addis Ababa, one of the most developed regions in the country, women are now having the replacement level number of children — two.

Although Ethiopia’s fertility rate ensures population growth for the foreseeable future, there remains some hope. Over 64% of Ethiopia’s population is 25-years-old or younger. As this demographic enters an economy catalyzed by foreign investment, continued development will lift many out of poverty, thus slowing the fertility rate even further.

With continued investment, the fertility rate could plummet to 2.5 by 2030.

Ethiopia’s population is well on its way to being sustainable by 2050. International investment works and it is essential if poverty-ridden regions want to experience the success Ethiopia is currently having.

– Kevin Meyers
Sources: CIA, CNBC Africa PRB UN
Photo: U of T Magazine

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China’s War on Poverty

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The rhetorical phrase “War on Poverty” is commonly used to describe programs and policies aimed at reducing or eliminating poverty. It has been used in the context of United States politics but is now also being applied by the media to Chinese efforts to reduce poverty, especially in rural areas. China has experienced a meteoric rise to economic prominence in a few decades, yet much of the country lies in the past, still experiencing economic hardship without the benefits of the recent successes. What is China doing to fight poverty?

Hundreds of millions of people have been salvaged from poverty since China’s rise to prominence, however, in 2012, China’s GDP per capita was less than other developing countries, including Iraq and Colombia. Part of this statistic lies with the fact that the Chinese economy has to sustain a huge number of people, but another reason for this surprising statistic is that economic growth in China has benefited some more than others. Specifically, those in urban areas have tended to gain more from recent economic advances than those in rural China.

In the past, the millions lifted out of poverty in China were a result in part of strong economic growth. Additionally, less people are working in agriculture and moving into other businesses and improving human capital systems. Anti-poverty actions by the government also played a role but perhaps have not been enough.

In the 1990s, China changed its definition of poverty to a level that was about two-thirds of the international standard, artificially lowering its poverty statistics. However, China has also thrown billions of dollars at the problem in the form of subsidized loans, grants and programs such as “Food For Work,” which aimed to stimulate the economic situation of the poor while at the same time improving infrastructure for water systems and roads.

Whether poverty reduction government programs like Food For Work were strong factors behind China’s first burst of poverty reduction between the 1970s and the late 1990s is hard to determine. Some believe that China’s staggering growth in those decades was the biggest driver for poverty reduction. If that is the case, then a slowdown in the Chinese economy (still at 7% growth approximately) could hurt the reduction in poverty unless new government programs can pick up the slack.

As previously mentioned, many of the poor in China have already benefited from economic growth, but many more are still impoverished. In the past month, President Xi Jinping reaffirmed the government’s responsibility to fight poverty in rural areas while at a conference about China’s 13th Five-Year Plan. A rash of suicides among children in a rural area of China and the death of five homeless children in 2012 (carbon monoxide poisoning from lighting a fire in a trash container where they were taking shelter) has caused hard questions to be asked and for government officials to talk about action. Recognition of the continuing problem by the Chinese government is a positive sign. The additional fact that the Chinese economy is becoming more dependent on a consumer class sheds light on the need for the Chinese economy to pull more out of poverty and into the consumption class. China’s war on poverty — the incentive to work towards ending poverty — is apparent, from both a public relations standpoint and an economic one.

– Martin Yim

Sources: Reuters, The Diplomat, Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, IMF, Asia Society
Photo: Yibada

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Controversial Land Acquisition Amendments Promulgated in India

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Last month, the President of India promulgated the controversial Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance despite massive public opposition. This means that even though the bill outlining the amendments has not yet passed in India’s Upper House to legally become law, its content would still be enforced. Multiple farmer organizations have collectively filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the ordinance, labeling it as “unconstitutional” and an unchecked exercise of executive power.

The bill amends various aspects of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013, which replaced the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act of 1894. The aim of the amendments is to facilitate development projects with greater ease by expediting land acquisition.

But many argue that the amendments violate property rights of vulnerable communities and risk exacerbating economic and social woes. While the 2013 Act made the consent of at least 70-80% of landowners mandatory for a project to be carried out, the new amendments no longer require any level of consent for projects that are for national security and defense, rural infrastructure, social infrastructure, industrial corridors and housing for the poor.

The amendments also no longer mandate a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) to be carried out for these five types of projects or any Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project if the government owns the land. Opponents of the amendment fear that the categories exempt from the consent and SIA requirements are so broad that nearly all land development projects can be carried out without them.

The new amendments also weaken the previous Act’s provision that decreed land be returned to its original owners if it remained unused for more than five years after its purchase. As a report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India on Special Economic Zones found last November, land in India is often left undeveloped for long periods of time.

Opponents also criticize the amendments for increasing government officials’ immunity against prosecution. In the old Act, the head of the department that carried out the project would be responsible for any mismanagement or wrongdoing. Now, the head of the department and other civil servants are protected from prosecution until the government gives courts its permission to proceed.

The Modi government, which is behind the amendments, has defended them by asserting that they will attract foreign investors. Land acquisition laws for foreign companies have been riddled with red tape and slow bureaucracy. The World Bank rates India 142 out of 189 economies for ease of doing business. Many companies have dropped their investment plans after just a few years because of these impediments.

But lingering concerns remain about the government’s ability to carry out any provision of either the 2013 Act or its amendments. Indian bureaucracy is riddled with corruption, impunity and mismanagement. An estimated 75% of displaced people since 1951 are still awaiting rehabilitation. Many have not been given their due compensation.

– Radhika Singh

Sources: The New Indian Express, The World Bank, One Law Street, One Law Street (2), The Weekend Leader, The Hindu
Photo: The Wall Street Journal

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The BRIC Countries Growing Contributions to International Aid

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Times are changing in the realm of foreign aid. Recent economic downturns have caused the aid levels of traditional donors like the US, Japan and the European Union to stagnate. However, another group of countries is rising to take their places. While in the past, these countries have received large amounts of foreign aid, they have rapidly evolved into some of the biggest benefactors. These burgeoning non-traditional donors are the BRIC countries.

Devised in 2001 by Jim O’Neil of Goldman Sachs, the acronym, BRIC, indicates Brazil, Russia, India and China. Within their borders, they contain 40% of the global population, encompassing a quarter of the world’s land and constitute another quarter of the global GDP. Those are some significant fractions.

Though already substantial, the BRIC countries stand to grow into the largest economies of the 21st century. According to predictions, China will have the largest GDP in the world by 2050, nearly twice that of the US. While China’s BRIC cohorts, India, Brazil and Russia are expected to stand at third, fifth and sixth places respectively.

In coincidence with their economic expansions, the BRIC countries have also stepped up their contributions to foreign aid. Estimates place China at the head of the pack with foreign aid spending in the broad range of $4 billion to $25 billion annually. According the Council on Foreign Relations, “This higher estimate would make China the second-largest provider of aid after the United States.” The rest of the BRICs trail behind. Estimates suggest India donates up from $680 million to $2.2billion annually, followed by Brazil with $400 million to $1.2 billion and finally, Russia with $500 million a year.

Excluding China however, these levels still hardly match traditional donors such as Norway, Sweden, Australia, Japan, the UK, France, Germany and Italy. Russia’s aid spending equals approximately that of Greece, while India’s spending compares to that of Portugal.

So then, what exactly makes the BRIC foreign aid spending significant?

Though the BRICs do not spend nearly as much as traditional donors, they spend in more incisive and focused manners. According to the GHSi, “international organizations have started looking to the BRICS as potential donors and health innovators in their own right . . . These countries represent a potentially transformative source of new resources and innovation for global health and development.”

India in particular has focused on global health initiatives that have labeled it “The Developing World’s Pharmacy”. As a major manufacturer of pharmaceuticals, India makes 60% to 80% of vaccines used by the UN and 80% of all donor-funded HIV treatments to developing nations.

Growth in spending, rather than the sheer magnitude of spending, also distinctively marks BRICs from more traditional donors. According to Reuters, all BRIC countries have heavily accelerated foreign aid spending in recent years. China has quadrupled its foreign aid spending between the years 2004 and 2011. According to their estimates, Brazil’s aid spending has had an annual increase of 20% a year between the years of 2005 and 2011. In 2010, Russia’s aid spending had quadrupled since 2006.

This growth also comes at a time when some traditional donors’ spending has become stagnant. While India’s foreign aid spending has, according to Reuters, “grown . . . at a rate 10 times that of the US,” Italian foreign aid has “fallen 10 percent in [the same] period.” In 2014, other traditional donors like Canada, France and Portugal all significantly decreased foreign aid spending.

For the rapidly expanding BRIC countries, foreign aid serves as a way to galvanize their position amongst the more traditional global powers. While they still cannot quite match their more developed counterparts, their increasing foreign aid spending reflects their predicted ascension into economic prosperity.

– Andrew Logan

Sources: Asia Pathways, CFR Global Sherpa 1, Global Sherpa 2 IPS News, NCBI Reuters, The Guardian 1 The Guardian 2
Photo: Flickr

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The Global Education Gap Remains Despite Education Numbers Surging

Education Numbers Surge, but Global Education Gaps RemainThe number of children across the globe attending primary school at the beginning of the 1800s: 2.3 million. This number has surged to 700 million today. But despite this gigantic increase, primary school children across the developing world still face one major problem: a global education gap between developed and developing countries.

A new Brookings Institution report details just what this problem is: a 100-year gap in the quality of education between developed and developing regions of the world. This means that the average level of education in many poor countries today is the same as the levels of education in places like Europe and North America were in 1900.

Not only is there a 100-year gap between global education in the developed world and the developing world, but the developing world also lags 85 years behind when it comes to educational attainment. It will take average-scoring students in the developing world six generations to catch up to the same scoring students in the developed world today.

Ninety percent of primary school-aged children are enrolled in school around the world – that success should not go unnoticed or without applause. At the end of World War II, only 1 million children attended primary school. In 65 years, this has increased to 7 million. This “going to scale” of education across the world is incredible. The next step, however, is catching the developing world up to the education levels the developed world enjoys today.

How did it get behind in the first place? The idea of mass schooling is available to all young people and not only those with the resources to access it became a mainstream idea in the middle of the 1800s in areas like North America and Europe. Only in 1948, almost 100 years later, with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights did this become a concept applied to children across the whole world.

Even with the large enrollment number victory, if the data is broken down in specific regions, the picture is not as pretty. In Sub-Saharan Africa, less than 80 percent of school-aged children attend school.

Another way to examine the gap is by looking at the average number of years of schooling adults have. In 1870, adults in the developed world completed an average of 2.8 years of schooling, while adults in the developing world completed under half that time – 0.5 years.

The average lagged behind, usually with adults in the developing world completing under half the years of education that their counterparts in the developing world did until 2010. For every 12 years that adults in the developed world completed on average, adults in the developing world complete an average of 6.5 years – just over half.

It is imperative that this gap is reduced and eventually banished for good. Besides the idea that morally all children deserve the opportunity to develop in order to thrive in the modern age, there are a couple of other reasons why action should be taken immediately. First, ending the 100-year gap holds the possibility for reform and improved global education. New ways of thinking about education in the developing world have the potential to be helpful to education systems in the developed world and benefit all young people.

Second, there is a skills deficit that has already started – between 2010 and 2030, 360 million people over the age of 55 will retire. At the same time, a 60 percent increase in the global labor force will come from places like Africa, India and other South Asian countries, all places in the developing world. These young people should not be affected by the global education gap, so they can seize their place in the world economy left by the well-educated retirees that came before them. If nothing is done, the 100-year gap will continue into eternity. Changes must be made to ensure this does not happen, for the sake of the world’s children and perhaps the world’s economy as well.

– Greg Baker

Sources: Brookings, BBC MG Africa
Photo: Africa Business Conference

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Urbanization Is Causing A New Kind of Poverty Around the World

A New Kind of Poverty due to UrbanizationUrbanization is creating a new face for poverty. People migrate to cities for the convenience of resources, proximity to jobs, and the chance to live amidst affluence. This migration, however, is not the case for those living in poverty that are pushed out of their lands in the countryside and made to urbanize. It could be for numerous reasons: a shift from agricultural to industrial sectors, a way to develop local economies by bringing more workforce into the cities or to occupy the rural lands in order to make space for more economic development.

While the goal of urbanization is to create prosperity, the opposite often occurs. Urban areas, compared to rural areas, are homes to extreme wealth disparities because the poor and wealthy are closer together. This closeness inevitably leads to severe discrimination that can influence social makeups, access to public services, or general treatment of separate economically, racially, or geographically different groups.

Urban conflict more so disrupts dense populations because it poses a greater public risk than previously in rural populations. Targeting populations based on geographical areas is also more difficult in cities where people are more mobile with their residency.

The urban poor experience a different set of challenges, mainly due to higher population densities and consequent unequal access to resources. According to The Guardian, urban hazards include low-quality infrastructure, higher risk of disease infestations, pollutants, toxicity, traffic-related injuries, diet-related illnesses due to street food and lower quality of selection, and sensitivity to poor levels in a poor economy. Hunger and malnutrition are more sensitive to economic well being and price fluctuations. The larger competition also negatively affects the share of people in poverty in urban areas versus in rural areas.

So far, 54 percent of the world lives in urban areas. This grew from a 30 percent rate in 1950. Urbanization is predicted to cause the population to rise to 66 percent in 2050. Asia and Africa will likely experience the sharpest rate increase, as their current populations are mostly rural. Today, the two countries’ urban populations are around 40 to 48 percent, but they may become 56 to 64 percent in 2050.

The global rural population is currently at three point four billion but is expected to decline to two point three billion by 2050. Largely in part of Africa and Asia’s transforming urban population in the years to come since now, they house nearly 90 percent of the world’s rural population.

– Lin Sabones

Sources: China.org.cn, The Guardian UN, UNDESA, UNFPA,
Photo: Flickr

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Fighting Poverty in Morocco

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On June 7, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) held an official ceremony to recognize the successful efforts of fighting poverty in Morocco. Morocco received the FAO’s distinction for reaching the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of cutting extreme poverty and hunger two years ahead of schedule. 72 countries around the world have so far achieved the MDG target.

Many credit Morocco’s innovative agricultural and fishery programs with the successful poverty reductions. One program, the Green Morocco Plan, increased the country’s agricultural yield by training farmers in “direct seeding” technology. A Moroccan official explained, “These strategies have brought significant support to small farmers, forest operators and fishermen to improve their income and, consequently living standards and better manage their natural resources in a sustainable manner”

Morocco’s National Initiative of Human Development (INDH) has also contributed to the country’s declining poverty rate. Established in 2006 to help lift nearly 10 million Moroccans out of poverty, the program allocated $6 billion to anti-poverty projects. The INDH is widely regarded as a success. In 2010 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the program, saying that its “significant results” will benefit all Moroccan citizens, especially the poor.

The Kingdom of Morocco is not singularly focused on domestic poverty. In the 16 years since his enthronement, King Mohammed VI has shown a particular interest in sustainable development on the African continent. He has helped launch multiple joint development projects and has championed African causes at the United Nations.

The monarch’s latest trip to Africa took him to Gabon, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Ivory Coast, where he met with leaders and signed 35 different partnership agreements. These agreements focus on the improvement of the countries’ training, agriculture, water and energy sectors. They will help build roads, provide medicines and supply water and electricity to impoverished villages. Many hope that these measures will improve food security and encourage socioeconomic development in the countries while still respecting traditional African practices.

Some countries in the region have also expressed interest in following the lead of Morocco’s National Initiative of Human Development. Recently, Morocco partnered with Gabon to help guide the country’s new Gabonese Human Investment Strategy (SIHG).

Morocco’s support for African development programs has gained the country and its leaders widespread popularity in West and Central Africa. As shifting geopolitical and economic factors increasingly mark Africa as a major player on the world stage, Morocco’s influence in the region could force the United States and other global powers to recognize the importance of developmental assistance.

– Caitlin Harrison

Sources: North Africa Post, World Bank, Morocco World News, United Nations, Digital Journal
Photo: Green Prophet

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Poverty in Ghana

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Once hailed as a rising star by the World Bank, Ghana has experienced significant macroeconomic challenges during the past five years that have severely undermined its social stability and resulted in fluctuating poverty levels. In 2022, the country’s inflation rate reached a record high of 54%, contributing to high public debt levels – nearly 90% of the GDP – and pushing millions into poverty. Although Ghana today has made strides in restoring stability and catalyzing growth, the pressure of high inflation has worsened poverty levels throughout the country, particularly in rural areas. State restructuring programs and humanitarian aid are both vital to providing poverty alleviation and ensuring a road of recovery for not only those suffering from poverty but for the country as a whole.   

Rural Poverty: Smallholder Farmers and Women

As of 2023, around 2.99 million Ghanaians were living in extreme poverty. Out of this number, an overwhelming 2.3 million were located in rural regions, constituting a majority of the multidimensionally poor. 

  1. Rural smallholder farmers, who produce 95% of the country’s crops, are among the poorest socioeconomic groups in Ghana. Most of these farmers reside in the northern region of Ghana and do not have access to the same infrastructure and services as urban southerners, despite being heavily dependent on agricultural yields for food security. A lack of land ownership rights also undermines the average farmer’s ability to invest in land improvements and farm expansion. Lastly, external factors such as climate change disrupt northern Ghana’s predominant practice of rain-fed agriculture, contributing to large post-harvest losses and limited food production.

Led by an unsustainable agricultural sector, northern Ghana is disparately faced with the proliferating burden of hunger and malnutrition. According to the World Food Programme, northern Ghana had the highest prevalence of food insecurity in 2020 in comparison to the other regions.  Today, chronic malnutrition and stunted growth among children under 5 affects approximately 33% to 40% of the North, despite the rest of the country reporting less than 20%. As high as 82% of North Ghanaian children are estimated to be anemic – despite the overall average being 60% across all of Ghana. 

  1. Women and girls in rural Ghana are more likely to suffer from poverty than their urban counterparts due to a lack of essential resources and opportunities. As a result of little to no formal sex education, 18% of girls in rural areas are teenage mothers as opposed to 11% in urban. Overall, girls in rural Ghana have less access to education due to social norms and traditions. Many do not complete primary or secondary education. 

Despite state efforts to strengthen women’s opportunities in the labor market, Ghanaian women still face disadvantages in comparison to men. According to the World Bank, 77% of women in 2022 were reported as occupying vulnerable jobs as opposed to 58% of men. Women are typically self-employed in the agricultural sector to maintain childcare and other domestic roles, resulting in low wages and financial exclusion.

Women and girls in rural Ghana are also subject to period poverty and lack access to affordable menstrual products. A recent increase in the state tax on feminine hygiene products has made them largely unavailable to women, especially those of lower income. In 2023, BBC reported that 13.2% of the Ghanaian minimum wage was necessary to purchase two packs of cheap sanitary pads. Per this report, Ghana has the most expensive feminine hygiene products relative to monthly income.   

Current Developments

Despite substantial economic shocks, Ghana is currently attempting to restabilize by implementing programs that target state restructuring and human development. As one of the largest gold producers in the world, Ghana has increased output from the Edikan, Chirano and Obuasi mines by an estimated 9.9% in 2023. Aiming to boost oil and gas production, the country has also sold more exploration rights to generate revenue to fund its energy transition and acquire valuable investors.  The challenge is to make sure that the wealth generated from these industries trickles down to every Ghanaian, especially to those in rural areas.

Another important method of eradicating poverty in Ghana is adopting a broad-based human development strategy to  keep Ghana on track for improving the quality and access of food across the country, for all age demographics. Organizations such as the World Food Programme (WFP) are currently working with the Ghanaian government to reduce malnutrition and improve existing food systems by adopting food and nutrition programs involving both public and private sectors. In 2023, a collaborative project between the WFP, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations (UN) called the USAID Farmer Support Activity provided cash transfers and agricultural training valued at $7 million to 17,000 vulnerable smallholder farmers during the lean season in Ghana. In the Ashanti Region, the WFP provided 39 health workers and 44 School Health Education Programme (SHEP) teachers with basic training on malnutrition prevention, promoting balanced diets and increasing micronutrient access. Outside of organizations, state policies such as providing microcredits and financing to small businesses may serve to boost agricultural yields and improve food security for rural populations.

Looking Ahead

Over time, the development of the gold and oil industries should translate to better infrastructure and more jobs for the average Ghanaian, as well as those in rural areas. Furthermore, ongoing efforts to promote women’s empowerment and representation by groups such as UN Women Ghana should motivate more women to become leaders and entrepreneurs, championing female representation across the country. Despite these advancements, Ghana is in great need of addressing other motivators for poverty – including climate change, environmental protection, and sanitation management. Although many challenges may currently take precedence over human development, Ghana may only be able to resolve both external and internal disparities by tackling policies to eradicate extreme poverty in Ghana once and for all.

– Maria Caluag, Moon Jung Kim 

Photo: Flickr