WHO lauds lockdown-ignoring Sweden as a ‘model’ for countries going forward

A third of Ghana’s population is between the ages of 15 and 34, but the country struggles to offer employment for its youth. Job creation has not kept up the pace with the country’s strong GDP growth, and among young people unemployment has increased from 10% in 2008 to 14% in 2018, far exceeding the rate for adults. Ghana also has lower levels of labour productivity than other African countries with a similar economic standing, partly because of inadequate training, and industries experience a lack of employable workers with the relevant skills for their tasks.

Across the world, countries have imposed social distancing regulations to avoid overwhelming the health care capacity during the coronavirus pandemic — the so-called “flatten the curve”. Such a policy can make a lot of sense. The first peer-reviewed cost-benefit analysis of the US shows just that. It looks at moderate social distancing, an approach similar to Sweden’s. Here, social interaction is reduced about 40 per cent, allowing schools and work to stay open but dramatically reducing contacts in all other public areas.

Achieving universal primary and secondary education is a central target of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Completion of primary and secondary education equips individuals with the needed skills and knowledge to establish businesses, seek employment, and save to secure their futures. Higher levels of education ultimately result in improved intergenerational mobility and sustained poverty reduction. Ghana continues to face some challenges in this sector, including limited space for increased admission and insufficient infrastructure for senior high school education. In 2017, space...