Education

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.

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. 

Fifty-one percent. This is the alarming dropout rate of Ghanaian girls who do not complete junior high school. Many drop out to get married. Child marriage is a common practice that affects 4 out of every 10 girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Ghana, 27% of girls are married before reaching the legal age. The percentage is even higher in rural areas and among the poorest population, particularly in the Northern Regions, where it has increased in recent years, impelled by cultural practices and poverty. 

Infant and maternal mortality are important indicators of a nation’s wellbeing and the overall quality of its health system. Over the last three decades, Ghana has achieved much improved primary care for mothers and children, but mortality rates are still significantly higher than the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Ein neuer Bericht der Vereinten Nationen warnt davor, dass die Zahl der Hungernden im Jahr 2018 weltweit zum dritten Mal in Folge gestiegen sei und nun bei über 820 Millionen liege. Und rund zwei Milliarden Menschen - über ein Viertel der Weltbevölkerung - habe keinen regelmäßigen Zugang zu sicheren, nahrhaften und ausreichenden Lebensmitteln. Diese stillen Todesfälle und das stille Leiden erregen nicht die Aufmerksamkeit der Welt wie die vergangenen Hungersnöte. Sehr zu Unrecht.

Most people on the planet wake up each day thinking that things are getting worse. It is little wonder, given what they routinely read in the newspaper or see on television. But this gloomy mood is a problem because it feeds into scare stories about how climate change will end in Armageddon. The fact is that the world is mostly getting better.

New Zealand is being lauded for introducing the world’s first Wellbeing Budget, which aims to shift the focus from GDP toward the “wellbeing of people.” Those with a grudge against the GDP indicator – in particular greens, who blame economic growth for harming the environment – see this as an exciting new opportunity to stop chasing dollars and start caring about people.

Durante el último cuarto de siglo, el cambio climático ha recibido más atención –y generado más profecías catastrofistas– por parte de líderes políticos y religiosos, celebridades y miembros de la realeza que cualquier otro tema.

Across the rich world, school students have walked out of classrooms and taken to the streets to call for action against climate change. They are inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who blasts the media and political leaders for ignoring global warming and wants us to “panic.” A global day of action is planned for March 15.

How much did climate change cost last year? One major charity says the answer is $US85 billion ($118bn). That claim was repeated by many newspapers — just as it was designed to — yet it is nonsense.