One in every four children lives in poverty in Ghana. This was made known by Dr Anne-Claire Dufay - UNICEF Representative at a High Level Inclusive Growth and Development Agenda Forum held at the Accra International Conference Centre on Wednesday, August 22, 2018.  The forum was held on the theme "Inclusive Growth for Sustainable Development".

 

The Minister for Planning, Professor George Gyan-Baffour, said that the forum is a continuation of a series of dialogues that seek to effectively address the twin phenomenon of poverty and inequality.

 

"Recent interventions such as the Free Senior High School Program, Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program, Water for All Program, Establishment of Apprenticeship and Skills Development Centers, Microfinance and Small Loans Center Restructuring, Planting for Food and Jobs, Mass spraying of cocoa, the expansion of Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)  and the introduction of the Nation Builders' Corps are all intended to widen access to social and economic services and promote equity in our society", he added.

 

These provisions, he said, are a clear evidence of government's pursuit of inclusive development and its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals to promote growth that is sustainable and able to create change for all.

 

Beyond the formulation stage, policy implementation must  ensure inclusion in all aspects.

 

He also pointed out that the meeting aimed among others to engage national policy and decision makers on issues of inclusive development. He said that it aimed at discussing how to ensure that the poverty oriented policies and programmes of government can have inclusive and equitable effects on their implementation.

 

The meeting, according to him, was also to share the perspectives and recommendations of some technical staff of civil societies on inclusive developmental agenda with key stakeholders as well as chart the way forward for systematic and inter-sectorial action to ensure inclusiveness in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national and international programs.

 

He urged heads of institutions and decision makers to propose and recommend sustainable pathways to further sharpen the strategies while creating opportunities.

 

The Chairperson for the forum, Mrs Aksoua Frema Osei-Opare, Chief of Staff, said that the forum is very timely having come after the launch and commencement of the Regional and District Dissemination of the Co-ordinated Program of Economic and Social  development policies.The growth of an economy, she said, has often been defined by a country's income.

 

"The benefits of growth must create opportunities for all. This is the fundamental basis of growth that we cosnsider as inclusive" she added.

 

"Ghana in 2011, was classified as one of the fastest growing economies in the world and was projected to stimulate further growth for socio-economic transformation. However, the economic indices soon after 2015/2016 pointed to a different direction and the assistance of the International Monetary Fund had to be sought" she said.

 

Mrs Osei- Opare said low employment generation, decline in agricultural output, widening income disparities as well as geographical and occupational inequalities were causes for considerable concern. She said it occasioned a series of consultations to explore how to deepen commitment to address these inequalities. The primary goal of these efforts was to foster systematic inter-sectorial collaboration to facilitate inclusive national planning  and implementation.

 

She added that an earlier forum held in June, 2018 reviewed the status of the inclusive growth and development agenda that emanated from a series of consultations.

 

"The meeting linked the outcome of the 2016 meeting to current development frameworks including the co-ordinated frameworks for economic and social development policies. It also looked at prospects for resourcing and the partnership role of the civil service organisation.

 

The collaboration with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Department for International Development (DFID), have ensured that these discussions are sustained.

 

Mr Robert Poku Kyei who represented the Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, said inequality and poverty is prevalent in certain areas especially in the north.  He stated that in Ghana's attainment of inclusiveness it is clear that the poor have seen important benefits from inclusive growth. "Poverty is more severe in the rural areas and parts of the three northern regions.

 

Using consumption levels as a measure of wellbeing, the gap between the richest 10 percent and the  poorest 10percent has been on the rise and has increased since 2006.

 

The wealthiest 10 percent, he revealed, consumed 6.4 times as much as the poorest 10 percent in 2006 but rose to 6.8 times in 2013 according to the Ghana poverty and Inequality Report. This, he said, is a challenge to inclusion and growth.

 

Dr Anne-Claire Dufay, a UNICEF Representative in her speech, commended President Nana Akufo-Addo and the government for committment to the Global Sustainable Development Goals Agenda and the African Union Agenda 2063.

 

It is wise, she said, to focus on inclusiveness. For the past two decades, she pointed out, Ghana has halved poverty rates, achieved high levels of enrollment in basic education, reduced child and maternal mortality rates and provided more protective environment for the vulnerable including children. However, a large portion of the population has not yet benefited from this due to inadequate access to socio-economic opportunities, or basic services.

 

She said that her trips to several rural areas in Ghana still showed a lack of access to water and basic healthcare.

 

"The Ghana's District League Table which UNICEF introduced in 2014 in collaboration with CDD-GHANA and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has provided evidence of the inequities in the levels of well-being across districts in Ghana". She said that Krachi East, for example, has remained at the bottom of the table since 2014.

 

The DFID's Country Director said the United Kingdom stands ready to support Ghana Beyond Aid by helping to remove barriers. Over the last two decades, the UK has invested over 2 million Pounds of development funding working hand in hand with government and other development partners. He said children of school going age have been supported to go back to school as well as raise incomes for 48,000 small hold farmers including 20,000 women in Northern Ghana.

 

He expressed joy that the Ghana Oil and Gas Inclusive Growth Program (GOGIG) has also contributed to the  program in partnership with the Ministry of Planning and other partners. Oil and Gas, he said, has played  a significant role in the Ghanaian  economy and it is crucial to highlight how it can contribute to inclusive development.

 

The 2016 inclusive Development Forum was organized by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in partnership with UNICEF, the World Bank and the Action Aid.

 

Also present at the forum were Mr Ignatious Baffour Awuah, Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Boateng Agyei and Mr Collins Ntim, Deputy Ministers for Local government and Rural development, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State in charge of Tertiary Education, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister for Information designate, Chief Director of Ministry of Planning, Magdalene Apenteng, Dr Grace Bediako, Development Planning Commission, Professor Kwesi Jonah, Senior Lecturer, University of Ghana Legon and some Senior Civil Servants.