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CAUTION: The following links and
accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation
in Ghana in the early years of the 21st
Century. Some of these links may lead to websites that present
allegations that are unsubstantiated, misleading or even false.
No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their
content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of poverty are of particular
interest to you. You might be
interested in exploring the relationship between distribution of labor and
per-capita GDP, for example. Perhaps
your paper could focus on life expectancy or infant mortality. Other factors of interest might be
unemployment, literacy, access to basic services, etc. On the other hand, you might choose to
include some of the possible outgrowths of poverty such as Human Trafficking,
Street Children,
or even Prostitution. There is a lot to the subject of
Poverty. Scan other countries as well
as this one. Draw comparisons between
activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. *** Extreme Weather *** Rising
Sea Levels and Coastal Erosion: Ghana’s coastal region faces erosion due to
rising sea levels and increased temperatures. Families in these areas may be
displaced, losing their homes and land. Vulnerability
to Disasters: With a significant population dependent on agriculture,
localized disasters have cumulative impacts on rural livelihoods over time.
Ghana is particularly vulnerable to droughts, coastal erosion, floods, and
landslides. Impact
on Human Security and Economy: Rising global temperatures are already driving
weather extremes in Ghana. Communities in West Africa, including Ghana, are
disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, despite contributing
minimally to greenhouse gas emissions. – Microsoft BING Copilot *** ARCHIVES *** The World Factbook - Ghana U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html [accessed 29
December 2020] World Factbook
website has moved to ---> www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ghana/ [accessed 5 January 2021] Ghana
has a market-based economy with relatively few policy barriers to trade and
investment in comparison with other countries in the region, and Ghana is
endowed with natural resources. Ghana's economy was strengthened by a quarter
century of relatively sound management, a competitive business environment,
and sustained reductions in poverty levels, but in recent years has suffered
the consequences of loose fiscal policy, high budget and current account
deficits, and a depreciating currency. GDP -
per capita (PPP): $4,700 (2017
est.) Labor
force - by occupation: agriculture:
44.7% industry:
14.4% services: 40.9% (2013 est.) Unemployment
rate: 11.9% (2015
est.) Population
below poverty line: 24.2% (2013
est.) Maternal
mortality rate: 308
deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) Infant
mortality rate: total: 32.1
deaths/1,000 live births Life expectancy
at birth: total population: 68.2 years Drinking
water source: improved: total: 89.9% of
population Physicians
density: 0.14
physicians/1,000 population (2017) Sanitation
facility access: improved: total: 68.7% of
population Electricity
access: electrification - total population: 79.3% (2016) The
Borgen Project - Ghana borgenproject.org/category/ghana/ [accessed 3 February 2021] The Borgen Project works with U.S. leaders to utilize the United
States’ platform behind efforts toward improving living conditions for the
world’s poor. It is an innovative,
national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign
policy. It believes that leaders of
the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global
poverty. From ending segregation to providing women with the right to vote,
nearly every wrong ever righted in history was achieved through advocacy. The
Borgen Project addresses the big picture, operating
at the political level advancing policies and programs that improve living
conditions for those living on less than $1 per day. ~
Ending Child Labor In Cocoa Production borgenproject.org/ending-child-labor-in-cocoa/ ~
The Promising Path Towards Women’s Rights In Ghana borgenproject.org/womens-rights-in-ghana/ ~
Efforts To Eradicate Poverty In Ghana borgenproject.org/efforts-to-eradicate-poverty/ ~
New Ghanian Research And Training Center Aids
African Supply Chains borgenproject.org/african-supply-chains/ ~
3 Reasons The Maternal Mortality Rate In Ghana Has Decreased https://borgenproject.org/maternal-mortality-rate-in-ghana/ ~
Bitland: Property Rights For The World’s
Poor borgenproject.org/property-rights-for-the-worlds-poor/ ~
4 Facts About Distance Learning In Ghana borgenproject.org/distance-learning-in-ghana/ U.S.
Ambassador Launches $19 Million activity to boost Agriculture Finance in
Ghana Modern Ghana, Accra, 6 May 2021 www.modernghana.com/news/1079573/us-ambassador-launches-19-million-activity-to.html [accessed 7 May 2021] The
U.S. Global Food Security Strategy for Ghana (GFSS) is a five-year,
interagency effort that aims to increase agricultural productivity, improve nutrition,
and raise household incomes for millions of Ghana’s agricultural workers.
Under the GFSS, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is
committing $19 million to support the initial activity, known as Feed the
Future Ghana “Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture” (MFA). The MFA
activity, which will run for four years, seeks to increase access to
agricultural finance in select staple and commodity value chains such as
maize, groundnuts, shea, soy, mango, cashew, and
other high-value export commodities. The initiative will focus on
facilitating transactions among buyers and sellers of the commodity crops and
promoting exports. The MFA
activity will mobilize investment for Ghana’s agricultural sector to become
an engine of sustainable growth, self-reliance, and shared prosperity. It
will work to connect financial institutions, business advisory service
providers, and agricultural enterprises, providing access to strategic
partnerships, technical support, and smart incentives to help financing flow
to where it is most needed and help more Ghanaians thrive. The Continued Deforestation in Northern Ghana: A call for Action from Leadership Fidelis Awonodomo Da-uri, ModernGhana, 27 April 2021 www.modernghana.com/news/1077464/the-continued-deforestation-in-northern-ghana-a.html [accessed 27 April 2021] Rural
households in northern Ghana have a lot of alternative ways of meeting their household
food needs during the lean season. During this period, households who run out
of food rely on fruits, vegetables and income from the sale of such fruits
and vegetables for their survival. Despite
the huge benefits that trees such as the shea tree
offered the people, there has been a growing commercial charcoal production
in northern Ghana in the past few years than ever before in this has left
many areas fast developing into a desert! The shea tree which provides both fruits and income to many
vulnerable homes had become the main target besides rosewood as it charcoals
has high demand in the market. The
mass cutting down of trees for charcoal production together with rosewood
logging, bush burning, and other environmentally unhealthy practices is not
only increasing climate change but continued food insecurity, poverty, hunger
and diseases in the area. The World Bank in Ghana www.worldbank.org/en/country/ghana/overview [accessed 19 April 2021] The
World Bank Group aims to help Ghana sustain economic growth, surpass the goal
of halving poverty by 2015, and maintain its middle income status. Looking back a few years … Advameg, Inc., Encyclopedia of the Nations www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Ghana-ECONOMY.html [accessed 3 February 2021] Prior
to 1990, the economy was dominated by over 300 state-owned enterprises. Although
over 150 of these firms had been privatized by 1996, the overall pace of
privatization has been slow. The economy is also hampered by poor roads and
an inadequate telecommunications sector. Inflation has also been a problem
peaking at 70% in 1995 before receding to about 21% by the end of 2001.
Inflation has been fueled by undisciplined spending by parastatals and large
public sector wage increases, which have added substantially to the
government's budget deficit. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT
COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Prof. Martin
Patt, "Poverty - Ghana", http://gvnet.com/poverty/Ghana.htm,
[accessed <date>] |