GHANA ON COURSE TO ACHIEVING MDG 1 #MDGmomentum

A report I chanced on capturing Ghana’s progress towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals shows a decline in poverty. The ‘2010 Ghana MDG’s Report’ revealed Ghana’s growth has been robust despite the economic crises that plagued the globe- slowing down economic growth.

Experts believe Ghana’s growth which averages at least 6.5 per cent per annum between 2007 and 2010 is strong enough to sustain the progress towards national poverty reduction. Extreme poverty incidence in rural Ghana recorded about 50% reduction in 2005/06, while reduction in urban areas was more than 50%, thereby achieving the target ahead of the 2015 deadline. However, disparity still exists- no significant improvements have been observed in the three northern regions as poverty incidence remains high and may not be able to achieve the target before 2015.

According to the report the progress in Ghana has been driven by high GDP growth rate supported by increased government development expenditure, debt relief and increased foreign investment. Special social intervention programmes aimed at increasing public expenditure on initiatives targeting poor and vulnerable people. In the three northern savannah regions the following interventions have been key factors contributing to our progress; Adoption of positive and productive security measures to address the long standing civil conflicts in Bawku and others zones; Increased resource commitment to the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to address the north-south disparity in poverty incidence and depth; the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) initiative, Ghana School Feeding Programme and Capitation Grant in the three northern savannah regions and other parts of the country with high depth of poverty; Improved infrastructure development, particularly road networks in areas that are not well accessible.

The report also captured five key challenges that stand in Ghana’s way despite the strides in our quest to attain Millennium Development Goal 1: Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; Macroeconomic bottlenecks, Infrastructural constraints, Low productivity especially in agriculture, Limited support for food crop farmers and weak investment climate.

The Findings of the report should guide government to stay on course, committed and take action on challenges discovered by as we work towards a world we want by achieving the MDGS!

 

Ghana Is Counting- Get Counted!

Dr. Grace Bediako (Government Statistician)

Before the advent of a population census by the British Administration, our local chiefs used to count their subjects at specific periods. Population counting in Ghana started in 1891 with a population of 764,185. For all things being equal; Ghana conducts Censuses at a ten (10) years interval, but these were confined to the colony. It was not until 1921 that the exercise was extended to cover the entire area of modern Ghana but was interrupted in 1941 as a result of the 2^nd world war and resumed in 1948, the last count in pre-independent Ghana. Since then, there have been four post-independent censuses (1960, 1970, 2984, and 2000).

CENSUS YEARS IN GHANA AND CORRESPONDING POPULATION

CENSUS YEAR	POPULATION
1921	2.3 million
1931	3.2 million
1948	4.1 million
1960	6.7 million
1970	8.6 million
1984	12.3 million
2000	18.9 million

Source: GSS, 2005 Population Data Analysis Report, Vol. 1, Table 1.1, p.3

The 2010 Census will be the 5^th Census to be carried out in the country since Ghana’s independence in 1957. The Population and Housing Census will be the second time Ghana will be conducting a Population and Housing Census as one operation. This will give us the total number of persons and housing types in every Ghanaian town or village settlement. Statistical Service Law, 1985 (PNDCL 135) empowers the Government Statistician to conduct statistical surveys and any Census in Ghana. The Census takes of on the 26^th of September 2010.

I will advice you take great note of the following important tit-bits:

Only the head of a household (a person with direct social and economic responsibility for the members of the household) or any responsible adult of the household qualifies to be interviewed in the 2010 Census, the head will answer on behalf of the members, so it’s best for heads of households to know some basic information on members of their household, e.g. Age, Date and Place of Birth, Educational Status, Employment Status, Actual type of work the person does.

All persons (Ghanaians and Non-Ghanaians) in the country at the Census Night will be enumerated, but everyone will be interviewed on the same day, the enumeration/counting exercise is two weeks, if your household isn’t counted during the period, let the Census Officials know through these hotlines provided: 0289553888 and 0289553889.

No need to travel to one’s hometown to be counted for the Population and Housing Census (PHC) 2010, everyone must be counted at their actual place of stay as much as possible- it will enable government and providers of amenities like electricity and water to know the kind and number of people they are dealing with. Otherwise there will be wrong impression with the distribution of the population, “quality data drives good decision making”. Also note, you will be enumerated where you spent the Census Night (12 am, this is a reference point to which all information collected will be referred to. This is due to the snap-shot nature of the census). Please, respondents should cooperate with enumerators and give accurate Information to Census officials; they are under oath to keep all information they receive from respondents, as Confidential.

About five-thousand (50,000) field workers will be dispatched to all parts of the country to conduct interviews of households and compile the population and basic characteristics of residential institutions, such as boarding houses, hotels, hospitals, prisons, etc.

The ensure you are dealing with a genuine census officer check for an identification Card (ID), a census-customized T-shirt and a letter of introduction, if one is still in doubt please call the numbers provided above.

Note, from the history of Census in Ghana, there has never been any time when census data has been used for taxation. Everybody counts including the physically challenged, even the bed-ridden, so don’t hide them- Ghana can only plan better for them if their numbers are known. People traveling, those who will sleep in hotels, motels and the other rest places will enumerated on the Census night. Same applies to Students in boarding Schools, Colleges and Universities, Patients in hospitals, Prisoners, Security staff at border posts, and Out-door sleepers.

If you are still asking, “What at all will our nation derive from the Census?” I would love you listen good;

• The Census would fulfill international requirements for data availability to track the nation’s progress.
• The Census would enable us Update data on demographic and socio economic characteristics at the national, regional and district levels of our nation.
• Data accrued will enable equitable distribution of resources and services at all levels.
• It would provide basic data that can be used in the computation of indicators for tracking the process of poverty reduction programmes and other core targets of the economy including the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Thanks for reading this item, hope you enjoyed every bit of information. Kindly pass the information on and remember to be sincere and give the enumerators accurate information about yourself and household.