Accra, Ghana//-The maiden Ghana Pluralism Monitor Report released by the Canada-based Global Centre for Pluralism has founded out that there remain significant inequalities in both education and health, especially along the north-south and rural-urban divides.
The Centre which launched its recent report in partnership with the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) added: “Health care facilities are mainly concentrated in the urban areas which makes it difficult for rural dwellers to access health care”.
Presenting the findings of the report in Accra, the Program Officer of the Global Centre for Pluralism, Madam Rajvir Gill quoted seventh Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS7) report to buttress the report’s assessment.
The GLSS7 report indicates that over 7 percent of people from the Western region, Northern region and Upper West region spent more than three hours to access the nearby health care facility as compared to those in Greater Accra where less than one percent spent more than three hours to access health care.
Access to family planning and modern contraception is still low among women in Ghana with the uneducated, poor and rural women being the most affected, the newly launched report said.
More broadly, the UNDP recently pointed to a disturbing picture of disparities and inequalities between the north and south.
The composite human development index—health, education and living standards—was 0.116 for the north compared with a national index of 0.576.
In health, access to facilities and to staff was far worse than elsewhere, with just 6 percent of specialist health professionals in the Northern Savannah zone, compared to 94 percent in the south, and 11 times fewer doctors per capita in Upper West than in Greater Accra Region.
Children’s health outcomes reflect high poverty levels and inadequate health services, with the poor nutritional status of northern children “about double the national average,” greater stunting of children than elsewhere, and infant and under-five mortality rates much higher than the national average.
In 2003, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was introduced to move the country towards the goal of universal health coverage, but the country is yet to achieve it many years down the lane.
The NHIS covers over 95 of all ailment expenditures. Coverage under the NHIS is open to all Ghanaians irrespective of gender, religious affiliation or geographical location in the country, although unequal spatial distribution of health facilities presents indirect obstacles to accessing this service.
To ensure equitable health care across various demographics, the aged, pregnant women, disabled and children are exempted from paying for membership registration or renewal fees.
However, the insurance does not cover all costs. Patients still have to pay substantial costs and the quality of care under the NHIS is generally deemed to be poor, the report added.
In almost all cultures across the country, customary practices and traditions such as widowhood rites, belief systems and inequitable rules regarding access to resources and political power undermine women’s agency, according to her.
She noted that access to health care had improved over the years in Ghana but important gaps remain.
Currently, it is estimated that about 81 percent of the population had access to general primary health care, 61.4 percent to secondary-level health care and only 14.3 percent to tertiary health care.
The north, as a whole, had the poorest quality education provision nationally as measured by the number of educationally deprived districts and the educational performance of students.
Also, access to education at the primary school levels in Ghana is high. The gross enrolment rate (GER) in primary schools reached 103.44 in 2021 and was as high as 108.34 in 2015.
Primary education is totally free and starts from kindergarten at age five.
Investments in the sector including programs like school feeding programs and free uniform programs instituted by various governments encouraged enrolments and eliminated some of the barriers to accessing primary education.
Enrolment at the secondary level is also at an all-time high with an enrolment ratio of 77.67.
This can be attributed mainly to the free Senior High School policy which started in 2017. Basic education in Ghana is nine years (primary and junior high) with an additional three-year secondary education.
As of 2020, there were 547,000 tertiary students in Ghana. Parity at these levels have improved considerably at these levels, partly due to policies targeted at removing barriers to education.
At the tertiary level, the enrolment rate of female students in 2020 stood at 17.7 as against 19.6 for males.
Scores
The Centre scored the country an average of four out of 10 on State of group-based inequalities.
The country according to the report scored four in Ethnic Group(s), and Religion diversities respectively. While it scored poorly 3 in North-south divide diversity.
The Centre uses its 20 indicators including: Legal commitments in support of pluralism; Practices by state institutions to realize commitments; Leadership towards pluralism from societal actors; 4. State of group-based inequalities; and Intergroup relations and belonging.
The country performed creditably well in areas such as cultural, access to justice, intergroup violence, inclusion and acceptance, among others.
In a panel discussion, both the Head of Department of the Political Science Department of University of Ghana, Prof Seidu Alidu; and Lecturer of African and Gender Studies of the University of Ghana, Prof Akosua Adomako agreed significantly with almost all the issues raised in the report.
The Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Prof Kwesi H. Prempeh who was excited about the Center’s partnership in launching the report, said the report would further deepen discussions on diversity and pluralism in the country.
Recommendations
There is the need to recognise the ways in which inequalities lie at the heart of society, limiting the extent to which development actions minimise equal and inclusive socio-economic impacts and relationships.
To this end, there is a need to prioritise the implementation of national policies that foster inclusiveness and lead to the creation of a pluralistic society in Ghana.
The report also called on Parliament to prioritise the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill to promote women’s equal participation and representation in politics and decision-making.
While calling on the National Media Commission and the National Communications Authority to rigorously enforce the applicable media regulations to deter violations of broadcasting ethics that infringes on the rights of identity groups in the country.
“State institutions responsible for promoting civic values, pluralistic ethics, and social justice (e.g. NCCE and CHRAJ) must be well funded to be able to perform their duties”.
The Secretary-General of the Global Pluralism Centre, Madam Meredith Preston McGhic explained that a team of national experts on diversity and inclusion in the country uses the Monitor Assessment Framework to produce the country report, drawing on a range of qualitative and quantitative data.
She described pluralism as: “Diversity in society is a universal fact; how societies respond to diversity is a choice. Pluralism is a positive response to diversity. Pluralism involves taking decisions and actions, as individuals and societies, which are grounded in respect for diversity”.
Launched by the Global Centre for Pluralism, the Global Pluralism Monitor is a measurement tool that assesses the state of pluralism in countries around the world.
Across political, economic, social and cultural domains, the Monitor informs decision-making to address root causes of exclusion and improve the prospects for pluralism. Here is the full report: file:///Users/masahudu/Downloads/GPM-Report%20Ghana-01b.pdf
