Seven out of ten Ghanaians blame poverty on corruption in the country
A study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has concluded that about 67% of Ghanaians believe the high level of corruption in the country is down to poverty.
Corruption (66.5%) was one of ten options the survey offered to gauge what Ghanaians made of the underlying causes of poverty in the West African country.
Second to corruption was sickness (of individuals) which polled at 56.95% while low political commitment (on the part of elected officials) was chosen 53.75% of the time.
Still, 52% of the respondents said they believed governments were unable to address the factors of poverty. Nearly 48% of them also thought they had
The study. dubbed “Citizens’ Report on Poverty, Vulnerability and Social Protection in Ghana” sought to measure the perception of Ghanaians on poverty and sociopolitical vulnerability. It was conducted in six districts, two each from the Greater Accra, Oti and Upper West regions.
The respondents were drawn from rural and urban Ghana. Some 58% of the 640 respondents were women.
The report also noted rural and urban factors that spurred poverty. In urban Ghana, for instance, restrained access to education and healthcare account for a lot of the causes of poverty.
Poverty in Ghana is defined as an inability to expend some $2 daily. Although Ghana has made giant strides against poverty in the last three decades, one out of four Ghanaians still lies below the poverty line.
Find UNICEF’s Citizens’ Report on Poverty, Vulnerability and Social Protection in Ghana below: