Child Poverty in Ghana

Abstract

Poverty is a threat to the very survival of humanity and has life-long consequences on a child’s physical development and academic performance. This study examines the impact of poverty on the well-being of children. Using the first three waves of the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey, the study first measures child poverty in Ghana using the multidimensional approach. Results indicate that child poverty is prevalent in Ghana. Over the period under review, 44 percent of children in Ghana remained poor while 15 percent became poor. The results also show that higher rates of multidimensional child poverty are prevalent in rural communities and the northern parts of Ghana. The study also examines the determinants of child poverty and concludes that children in male-headed households are likely to be multidimensionally poor compared to their counterparts in female headed households. The study also reveals that children are less likely to be multidimensionally poor when their household heads are married. The study therefore advocates for proper family life training this is because a stable family creates a nurturing environment for children to grow and develop. Specifically, the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection (MoGCSP) should educate Ghanaians about proper family values. The study recommends that data collection and monitoring systems are improved to accurately measure and track child poverty rates and easily identify and track vulnerable groups. This will enable the evaluation of the effectiveness of poverty reduction initiatives and also help efficiently target resources and interventions. Another recommendation of this study is that poverty strategies aimed at improving the welfare of children should target improving the conditions of the household and the mothers since the household and mothers are the first point of contact for the child. The study also examines the nexus between child poverty and child academic performance. The findings reveal that child poverty has a negative and significant impact on academic performance measured by both English and Math scores. Thus multidimensionally poor children are more likely to perform worse than children who are not multidimensionally poor. The study also found that school conditions such as access to textbooks and the type of school the child attends influence the academic performance of the child. The interaction of child poverty with the type of school the child attends reveal that poor children who attend public school are likely to perform worse compared to their counterparts who attend private schools The study confirmed that children who had only one class teacher performed worse than other children who have more than one class teacher in their various schools. This implies that school subject teachers are needed at the basic level to enhance the academic performance of the child. Household conditions such as the presence of the mother, father or both parents in the household, and the number of children in the household have no significant impact on the child’s academic performance. Interestingly the study did not find the wealth index to be significant when it controlled for household wealth. This implies that the measure of poverty especially in child analysis is critical. Based on these findings, the study recommends that the government must be intentional about bridging the gap between urban and rural communities and provide the necessary infrastructure such as well-furbished classrooms, electricity and good sanitation. In addition, teachers posted to rural communities must be motivated with some incentives such as special allowances and free housing. In the fourth empirical chapter, the study seeks to examine the drivers of stunted children in the household. The study reveals that the likelihood of finding a stunted child in households which had depressed mothers is high. Thus the health of mothers affects the health of their children. The study found that among urban dwellers, the presence of both parents in the household reduced the chances of having a stunted child in the household. The study therefore recommends that Parent Teacher Associations in schools should focus on the role parents have to play in the overall well being of their children, especially in the prioritization of child nutrition. The study also revealed that improved toilet reduces the risk of stunting in the household and recommends that houses are built with improved toilet facilities like flush toilets/ water closets. Governmental departments such as the Town and Council Planning must engage stakeholders to ensure that houses constructed have their private toilets and as well as quality water. Finally, the fifth empirical chapter examined son preference in the household. The study used the household’s preference for whether it is better to school a boy than a girl to measure son preference. The findings of the study reveal that urbanization, modernization and education reduce son preference in Ghana. The study therefore recommends that policies geared toward bridging the gender inequality gaps in Ghana should focus on addressing the gender wage gap in Ghana. Bridging the gender wage inequality gap will allay the fears of parents since there is equal economic value for both boys and girls. The study also recommends that all stakeholders such as the Ghana Education Service (GES) and parents place priority on ensuring that educational opportunities are fairly distributed among both boys and girls in the household and that nothing becomes a barrier in preventing both boys and girls from benefiting from educational investments.