Ghana's Poverty Line Reduces Significantly

The Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS) has noted that even though Ghana is "experiencing rising inequality, growing regional disparity and deep poverty with the Cedi's value depreciating by 23% and 19% against the dollar and the euro." In 2008 alone, there was a significant fall from 51.7% in the 1990s to 28.5% in 2005 and 2006 of the population living below the poverty line.

There is however a reduction of inflows of donor funds to both government and CSOs worsening the plight of the rural poor and urban women and children, as well as the vulnerable in society.

These revelations were made at the launch of the 2009 edition of Social Watch report in Accra. Titled 'Making Finances Work: People First', the report is a collection of reports from over sixty member countries around the world, on the general impacts of the economic and ecological crisis on these countries.

Also in the report are issues about food insecurity from the World Food Programme Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis of Ghana. In this document, The World Food Programme identified food insecurity among some 1.2million and another 2 million people who had inadequate consumption patterns in Ghana's entire population. The study revealed a worrying trend of 34%, 15% and 10% of the people of Upper West, Upper East, and Northern Regions with inadequate consumption patterns respectively.

At the Forum, the Global Social Watch Coalition faulted the capitalist profit-driven economic system for failing to prioritize human interests and for not considering human right issues, poverty and the marginalized in the society.

According to the coalition, these were among other issues the coalition enumerated as accounting for the global economic down-turn.

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin, of NetRight and ABANTU Ghana, disclosed that the inherent deficiencies of the global economic structure in tackling poverty, inequality in wealth distribution and the recent global economic crisis are among some of the factors that flaw the capitalist system. She complained about the inability of the banking and financial sectors to facilitate access to their services by the marginalized and poor in society and said there was the need for reforms in the current economic decision making procedure.

Dr. Yao Graham, Executive Director of the Third World Network, Africa, and member of the Social Watch Assembly, explained that Ghana will be the first African country to host the Social Watch Assembly which will take place between the 25th and 27th of October, 2009. This forum, he said, will provide the platform for member countries to discuss the most pertinent issues as far as development is concerned.

The assembly is expected to elect new leaders of the Coordinating Committee, as well as effect review of the Social Watch achievements in terms of economic and social development. Dr Graham intimated that a public forum will be held after the two-day conference to communicate to Ghanaians the various decisions reached at the Assembly.

According to him, the forum, which will have more than 100 participants from 60 countries, will provide the opportunity for the different regional groupings to share experiences on the impact of the global financial crises. The Global Social Watch Coalition is a collection of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) from 60 countries including Ghana.