Statistics from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), indicate that poverty has been declining consistently for the past three decades as a result of government’s policies.
Recent surveys show that between 2012 and 2017, overall poverty declined from 24.2% to 23.4%. Between 2006 and 2017, the number of poor people in the country reduced from 7.0 million to 6.8 million.
These were presented by the Government Statistician, Dr. Baah Wadieh at the launch of the Poverty Profile Report on Ghana in Accra.
He said the Statistical Service is stepping up its game to reduce the number of years they conduct these surveys from seven years to four years and this requires government’s support in terms of resources to achieve targets.
The Country Director of the Department for International Development (DFID), Philip Smith says Ghana cannot eradicate poverty fully until it has addressed all forms of inequalities in every area.
Speaking at the launch of the Ghana Poverty Profile report, Mr. Smith said the DFID’s studies show that people living in remote rural areas, especially in the northern parts of the country are denied basic resources and means of livelihood.
He said though Ghana is improving economically, the Ghana beyond aid dream can only thrive if these inequalities are fully solved.
