Election 2024: Where are the policy proposals to fight poverty?

The Ghana Statistical Services (GSS) reported last week on multidimensional poverty in Ghana which showed that overall, a little over seven million (7,317,555) or twenty-four per cent (24%) Ghanaians are multidimensionally poor.

Measuring poverty this way gives a comprehensive picture of the extent of deprivation Ghanaians face. Multidimensional poverty looks at three key areas — education, health and living standards — across twelve indicators.

To further understand the current state of multidimensional poverty in Ghana and its implications for the 2024 election in terms of policy proposals from the various political campaigns, I took the opportunity to explore the data further. The Ghana Statistical Service’s StatsBank, which is publicly accessible online, has data on multidimensional poverty (published as recently as November 22, 2023). 

The current state of multidimensional poverty

The GSS data provides insights into a) the incidence of poverty (who is poor) and b) the intensity of poverty (how poor are the poor). The intensity of poverty, especially is important because as per the GSS, it measures "the average share of deprivation that poor people experience."

Essentially, it gives you a good idea of how many of the things that contribute to poverty are carried by the poorest among us. Three key observations from the table above – a) the regional variation in the incidence of poverty with some regions experiencing high levels, while others experiencing low levels; b) the higher incidences in the northern part of Ghana and c) the similarity in the intensity across the regions.

Three key observations from the table above – a) the variation in the incidence of poverty across demographic groups especially with high levels where the head of the household is in the agriculture sector, those in rural Ghana or those with no education; b) the similarity in the intensity across demographic groups; and c) the drop in the incidence of poverty as the level of educational attainment improves.

Implications for the 2024 election

As the 2024 election heats up and candidates propose various policy ideas for voters to consider, I am yet to hear specific policies aimed at fighting poverty. Perhaps, the yet-to-be-released manifestos will address poverty issues. Whatever policy proposals emerge from the various political campaigns, here are some important considerations.

First, the policy teams of the various campaigns must ask whether, in the design of policies to fight poverty, the focus should be on a) areas with both high incidence and high intensity or b) on reducing the intensity of poverty regardless of its incidence.

Whatever the choice, policymakers need to remember that it has implications for the allocation of resources to fight poverty. Second, the incidence of poverty where the head of the household works in the agriculture sector is quite alarming.

We often hear about the potential of the agriculture sector. If the agriculture sector holds promise, then the policy teams of the various campaigns must figure out how to create the right incentives to attract individuals to engage in agriculture, while at the same time reducing the incidence of poverty in the sector.

Third, the variation in the incidence of poverty noticed across the various levels of educational attainment suggests a link between the two. The policy teams of the various campaigns must wrestle with the idea of whether there should be more intentionality in tying education policies and programmes to the fight against poverty.

When asked to rate the fight against poverty (improving the living standards of the poor), only four out of ten (36%) Ghanaians on average, as per data from six rounds of the Afrobarometer survey (2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2022), say “fairly well or very well.”

 For a country that implemented the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS I) 2003–2005 and the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II) 2006–2009, perhaps it is time to reimagine our policy efforts to fight poverty.

The writer is the Project Director, Democracy Project.