What is Ghana’s State of Adopting the SDGs?

Published by Eco Media on

SDGs
In 2015, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), comprising 17 interconnected targets aimed at tackling global issues such as poverty, inequality, climate change, and sustainable development by 2030.

Globally, the SDGs have fostered cooperation and mobilized resources to address pressing challenges, driving progress in areas like education and clean energy.

At the national level, countries such as Ghana have integrated the SDGs into their development agendas, aligning them with national policies and adapting them to meet the specific needs of communities and regions.

Locally, grassroots initiatives and partnerships have created inclusive solutions, making the SDGs relevant to daily life and promoting equitable development.

When compared with other African countries, Ghana’s progress toward the SDGs is moderate, reflecting improvement across various indicators. Although the country has promoted multi-stakeholder participation and integrated the SDGs into its national development framework, disparities in implementation remain.

Ghana has made strides in poverty reduction, gender equality in education, and access to essential services like clean water and electricity. However, challenges such as gaps in social protection, environmental degradation, and economic inequalities persist.

Ghana’s institutional structures and programmes, including its decentralised planning system and initiatives such as Free Senior High School and “One District, One Factory,” demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainable development. Nonetheless, progress is uneven, with geographic disparities and the impacts of climate change hindering overall advancement.

Despite these obstacles, Ghana’s focus on leveraging synergies between goals positions it better than some of its regional peers to accelerate SDG implementation.

According to the Sustainable Development Report 2024, Ghana ranks 117th out of 166 countries on the SDG Index, with a score of 63.0, placing it in the “moderately improving” category. While progress has been evident over the years, performance on specific goals has been mixed.

Between 2016 and 2019, Ghana made notable gains in access to electricity, improved water supply, and gender equality in education. However, setbacks in areas such as biodiversity preservation, sustainable agriculture, and poverty alleviation have occasionally stalled progress.

From 2020 onwards, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted Ghana’s SDG trajectory. Economic slowdowns, rising unemployment, and strained healthcare systems were major challenges.

Despite these difficulties, Ghana has continued efforts through social protection programmes such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) and the expansion of universal health insurance, contributing to reduced inequalities.

The latest 2024 data shows that while goals like SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) are on track, others, such as SDG 2 (zero hunger) and SDG 13 (climate action), are either stagnating or regressing. This pattern reflects broader challenges across Sub-Saharan Africa, including systemic inequalities, limited resource mobilization, and the worsening impacts of climate change.

In summary, Ghana’s progress on the SDGs is steady but needs acceleration. To sustain gains and address stagnation in critical areas, the country must prioritize innovative technologies, increase funding, and focus on equitable growth.


The writer, Asamoah Daniel Kwame Oware, is a teaching and research assistant at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

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