GSS urges wider NHIS coverage, sanitation investment and jobs to accelerate poverty reduction

By Juliet ETEFE

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has called for expanded National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) coverage, faster investment in sanitation and housing and stronger job creation, noting that health deprivation, poor living conditions and employment vulnerability remain the main obstacles to poverty reduction.

Presenting the Quarterly Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report for 2024 Q1–2025 Q3, Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu said multidimensional poverty declined to 21.9 percent – about 7.2 million people – by third-quarter 2025 from 24.9 percent (8.2 million people) in fourth-quarter 2024. However, he cautioned that progress remains uneven across regions and socio-economic groups.

An estimated 360,000 people were lifted out of multidimensional poverty between the second and third quarters of 2025 alone. Despite this improvement, rural poverty remains more than double urban levels while the North East and Savannah Regions continue to record some of the highest poverty incidence rates – exceeding 50 percent.

Health remains the single largest contributor to multidimensional poverty, accounting for about 40.9 percent of total deprivation. This is driven mainly by low health insurance coverage and nutrition challenges. Health insurance deprivation alone contributed about 26.5 percent to poverty outcomes in third-quarter 2025, marginally down from 27.4 percent in the previous quarter.

“Health-related poverty is driven largely by health insurance deprivation, contributing over 25 percent in both urban and rural areas and with slightly higher shares in rural communities,” the report noted.

To address this, GSS recommended expanding NHIS enrolment and simplifying renewal processes, particularly for informal sector workers, rural households and vulnerable groups. Strengthening outreach and digital renewal systems, it said, will improve continuity of coverage and reduce exposure to catastrophic health shocks. As at late 2025, the National Health Insurance Authority reported that about 20 million Ghanaians held active NHIS cards.

Living conditions emerged as the second-largest driver of poverty, contributing about 33.8 percent. Overcrowding, inadequate sanitation facilities, unsafe water access and poor housing quality remain major constraints, with rural areas experiencing significantly higher deprivation than urban centres.

GSS urged government to accelerate investment in sanitation infrastructure, safe drinking water, electricity expansion, housing quality improvement and measures to reduce overcrowding, particularly in high-incidence regions. Targetted infrastructure spending, it said, will deliver faster poverty reduction gains than broad, untargetted interventions.

While education continues to act as a protective factor against poverty, the report warned of emerging pressures in school attendance and learning progression. Poverty incidence among households headed by persons with no formal education stands at about 38.5 percent, compared with less than six percent among households headed by tertiary-educated persons.

The Service therefore recommended strengthening school feeding and education support programmes, expanding capitation grants, improving attendance monitoring and deploying targetted interventions in underserved districts to prevent intergenerational poverty.

Employment vulnerability also remains a key driver. Unemployed household heads face a poverty incidence of about 35.6 percent, while the number of people experiencing the combined burden of poverty, unemployment and food insecurity rose slightly to more than 227,000 in third-quarter 2025.

To reverse this trend, GSS called for scaled-up skills development, apprenticeships and productive job creation – with stronger support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), enterprise formalisation and targetted vocational training for vulnerable youth. Stable employment, the report stressed, offers the most reliable pathway out of multidimensional poverty.

Social protection remains critical for households facing extreme vulnerability. Persons with disabilities and some female-headed households continue to record significantly higher deprivation levels, prompting calls for expanded and better-targetted interventions under programmes such as Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP).

Dr. Iddrisu said the MPI provides policymakers with an evidence-based tool to move beyond national averages and focus resources where deprivation is most severe.

“Reducing multidimensional poverty requires coordinated action that strengthens health protection, improves living conditions, keeps children in school and expands stable employment, particularly in high-poverty regions,” he said.

GSS stressed that achieving Sustainable Development Goal Target 1.2 and sustaining inclusive growth will require aligned action by government, the private sector and households – including support for NHIS enrolment, sanitation and housing investment, skills development and decent job creation.

 

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