High govt debt, other factors pushed 850,000 Ghanaians into poverty – Report

A recent study conducted by the Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) sheds light on the dire situation faced by 850,000 Ghanaians, predominantly women, who fell into extreme poverty in 2022.

Findings from research conducted in October 2023 underscore the challenges faced by Ghana, despite a modest recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

“By the time this research was conducted (October 2023), the inflation rate averaged 35 per cent

The report found that the cost-of-living crisis disproportionately affects workers in informal employment, who make up 89 per cent of the employed population nationally (83 per cent in Accra).

According to the report, most workers in informal employment lack access to critical safety nets – pension and poverty relief programmes, cash transfers, and microfinance schemes – which leaves them particularly vulnerable to economic shocks.