CSOs on SDG 1 call on gov’t to prioritizing social protection programmes to reduce child poverty

The Civil Society Organizations on the Sustainable Development Goals, Sub-Platform1 (SDG1) is calling on the government to prioritise social protection programmes to reduce child poverty in Ghana.

According to UNICEF, Children under 15 years are more prone to multidimensional poverty in Ghana.

It is said that about 19.3% translating to about 6 million Ghanaians, and three-in-four Children are facing at least three deprivation at the same time.

In joining the rest of the world to mark ‘World Poverty Day’ on the theme ‘Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet’, CSOs on SDG 1 in Ghana has released a statement to charge the government to rapidly scale up social and economic safety net programmes and services, covering the immediate needs of the vulnerable and deprived.

The platform insists that it is necessary the government of the day prioritises Social Protection Programmes to reduce Child poverty at both urban and rural societies.

In addition, the platform is also entreating the Government of Ghana to make deliberate efforts and invest in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) which tends to develop more skills, create more jobs, expand businesses, generate more revenue and also reduce poverty.

“We further encourage Government to ensure that all anti-poverty programmes have measurable outcomes and investments into poverty driven policies should be increased for the attainment of the UN Agenda 2030 in Ghana,” the statement from the CSOs on SDG1 platform concludes.

Read the full statement from the platform below:

18/10/2021

PRESS STATEMENT:

For Immediate Release

Poverty is a threat to the collective survival of Ghanaians-SDG 1 Platform on

World Poverty Day 2021

The Civil Society Organizations on the Sustainable Development Goals, Sub-Platform1 (SDG1) join the world in celebrating this year's World Poverty Day, a day set aside by the United Nations to have global conversations on poverty and its debilitating effects on humanity.

This year's celebration under the theme: “Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet” is more appropriate which reminds the world of its quest to ending poverty by 2030. It’s a great milestone to have steadily reduced extreme poverty for almost 25 years.

Now for the first time in a generation however, the quest to end poverty has suffered its worst setback. According to the World Bank, Global extreme poverty is expected to rise in 2020, as the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic compounds the forces of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing poverty reduction progress.

Again, other researches estimate that climate change alone will drive between 68 million - 132 million people into poverty by 2030, if efforts are not increased. Remember, 2030 is the same year we are expecting to end poverty of all forms.

We, the over 60 CSOs of the SDG 1 platform, hereby acknowledge the efforts of the Government of Ghana to reducing poverty of all forms, however, Ghana’s multi-dimensional poverty revealed a lot of our poverty reduction strategies are not adequate.

As a platform we collectively agree to the fact that, Ghana is not poor but resource mismanagement, the missing consciousness and measurable outputs of government’s anti-poverty programmes have deepened the poverty situation.

We therefore, entreat the Government of Ghana to make deliberate efforts and invest in

* Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) which tends to develop more skills, create more jobs, expand businesses, generate more revenue and also reduce poverty.

* enabling business environment and creating favourable conditions for businesses to thrive and develop, which include appropriate tax systems and regimes, efficient management of business red tapes and reforms and nurturing of non-profit organization self-regulatory mechanisms, these collaborative efforts will help reduce poverty.

* prioritizing Social Protection Programmes to reduce Child poverty at both urban and rural societies. Thus, rapidly scaling up social and economic safety net programmes and services, covering the immediate needs of the vulnerable and deprived. It is documented by UNICEF that Children under 15 years are more prone to multidimensional poverty in Ghana, thus about 19.3% translated to about 6 million Ghanaians, and three-in-four Children are facing at least three deprivation at the same time.

We further encourage Government to ensure that all anti-poverty programmes have measurable outcomes and investments into poverty driven policies should be increased for the attainment of the UN Agenda 2030 in Ghana.

...End...

Issued this 18th Day of October, 2021@Accra.

For interviews, contact the following numbers;

Mr. Peter Bismark: 0244169361 (Convener)

Mr. Maxwel Amedi: +233 24 402 6547 (Co-Convener)