The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called for an equitable allocation of resources to help address the human development deficits in Northern Ghana to ensure that “no one is left behind”.
UNDP had observed that the patterns of poverty in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West Regions and some parts of Volta and Brong Ahafo regions have widen as compared with other regions of the country. This was contained in a press statement copied to A1 News. The statement contained the UNDP Human Development Report on Northern Ghana entitled “Bridging the Poverty Gap and Fostering Socio-Economic Transformation for All”.
The report explores development challenges and opportunities in Northern Ghana and offers suggestions for poverty eradication in the area. The findings revealed that though the northern zone has witnessed good development over the years, more effort is required to transform the zone for the country to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 1 which aims at eradicating poverty in all its forms everywhere.
The study investigated livelihood issues relating to health, education and infrastructure gaps, as well as governance and environment.
“To ensure inclusive growth, the report recommends the need for a coordinated stakeholder approach to address development gaps in road infrastructure; in information, communications and technology (ICT); education and healthcare delivery; youth unemployment; energy access; data gaps for development planning; gender inequity; as well as high climate change impact on agriculture and livelihoods.” The report hints.
The report suggests massive investments in infrastructure development and recognizes the importance of complementing the government’s ‘One Village One Dam’ initiative to boost agriculture production in the northern zone.
The UNDP Human Development Report on Northern Ghana emphasized the need for an improvement on “road and water transport networks; and investment in warehousing, cold chains and processing infrastructure” to help increase value additions and reduce post-harvest losses.
The report therefore calls for strong partnerships among stakeholders to leverage synergies and ensure that local people are empowered to benefit and to drive transformation in the zone.
Medical Doctors and some key public workers for the past years have refused postings to the Northern parts of the country. It is against this backdrop the report recommends an “innovative Public Private Partnerships to facilitate access to housing for health and education staff to attract and retain staff in the education and health sectors especially in rural communities in the northern zone”
In addition, the report identifies the promotion of conservation and climate change adaptation best practices including tree planting to reduce soil degradation and promote water conservation particularly along streams and waterways.
Commenting on the report Ms. Gita Honwana Welch, UNDP Ghana Country Director noted that, the Northern Ghana Human Development Report, like other Human Development Reports produced by UNDP, provides baseline information on areas requiring development attention in the Northern Ghana.
“UNDP collaborated with the University for Development Studies (UDS), the University of Ghana and Northern Development Authority (then Savannah Accelerated Development Authority) to produce this report. The findings and recommendations from the report are to inform and shape policy decisions that will propel transformational development in the north”, noted Ms. Welch.
UNDP Ghana has over the years, produced national, district and regional reports for the country. The first regional Human Development Report was for the Western Region on the theme “Managing Development Opportunities for a Secure Future”. The Northern Ghana Human Development Report (NG-HDR) is the second regional report developed by UNDP Ghana.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|
