At a glance: Ghana

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With more than two decades of progressive, peaceful and democratic political stability, as well as a robust and growing economy, Ghana has emerged as a leader in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Yet, despite Ghana’s relative prosperity, poverty remains pervasive in the country’s three northern regions, which now account for half of Ghana’s population living under the poverty line.  This situation was exacerbated by a recent energy crisis coupled with a humanitarian emergency caused by a combination of severe rains and overflowing rivers.

Issues facing children in Ghana

• One third of rural populations lack access to safe drinking water, and only 11 per cent have adequate sanitation. Guinea worm, a parasitic infection largely attributable to drinking unsafe water, continues to plague Ghana which reported more cases of Guinea worm than any other country in 2004.
• While the HIV prevalence rate seems to be stabilizing in Ghana, the countries’ comparatively low number of HIV/AIDS cases masks considerable variations by geographic region, gender, age, occupation, and to some degree, urban-rural residence. It has been estimated that only 30 per cent of AIDS cases are reported, in part because of stigma, but also due to factors such as reduced health-seeking behaviour, and inadequate access to health services.
• Nationwide, only 469 eligible HIV-positive children (aged 0-14) were receiving crucial Anti-retroviral therapy (ART). Given that more than 6,000 children are eligible for ART, there is still an enormous gap in the area of pediatric ART. 
• Proper iodization and use of iodized salt remain a challenge in Ghana. Figures show that 51 per cent of households consume iodised salt, but only 32 per cent of households adequately iodized their diet.
• Birth and death registration continues to be relatively low in Ghana due to severe capacity constraints and the Birth and Death Registries where registration is still largely done by hand.

Activities and results for children

• Data suggest that Ghana has already achieved gender parity at the primary and junior secondary levels. In partnership with key government and non-government actors, UNICEF has worked successfully toward improving the level of girl’s education in 15 districts where parity levels were low.
• Seventy-eight per cent of the population is now using an improved source of drinking water and 60.7 per cent have access to improved sanitation. The sanitation figure presents a significant increase over comparable household surveys completed in 2003.
• An integrated maternal and child health campaign included distribution of 1.5 million long-lasting insecticide treated nets to children 0-11 months of age, administration of vitamin A to children under 5 years and to lactating women, de-worming of 2-5 year old children (nationwide) and administration of 3 million supplemental doses of polio vaccine to children under 5 years.
• UNICEF, in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services, initiated the Integrated Nutrition Action Against Malnutrition project in Ghana’s Upper West Region in May 2007.  The project aims to provide 138 metric tons of Ready-to-Use Food (RUTF), called “plumpy’nut”, to 2,000 severely malnourished children aged 6-36 months.
• UNICEF intensified its support for Guinea worm eradication efforts during 2007. Following an increase in cases early in 2007 (as a result of break-down of a major water source in 2006), very encouraging progress was recorded during the last six months, with an 8 per cent reduction in indigenous Guinea Worm cases by year’s end.