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A new Afrobarometer on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) scorecard for Ghana shows that the country is making progress on issues of trust in state institutions.

There is also some improvement in access to clean water, sanitation and affordable energy.

However, the country performed worse on access to medical care, reduction in gender gap in unemployment and bribe payment for public services.

The scorecard also highlights citizens’ experiences and evaluations of their country’s performance in democracy and governance, poverty, health, education, energy supply, water and sanitation, inequality, gender equity and other priorities reflected in 12 of the 17 SDGs.

According to Afrobarometer — an independent pan-African survey research network — citizens’ assessment could be compared to official UN tracking indicators.

Questions asked included how often, if ever, had any of the respondents or anyone in their family gone without enough food to eat, enough clean water for home use, medicines or medical treatment and enough fuel to cook their food.


Besides, the citizens were asked how they made decisions on how to use money that they earned, for example, from legitimate jobs.

Read also: Taxpayers don’t trust GRA – Afrobarometer report

Regional webinar

 
Last Monday, Afrobarometer released scorecards for five West African countries, including Ghana, as part of a series of regional webinars focusing on progress toward the SDGs in Africa.

The Afrobarometer project manager for Anglophone West Africa and North Africa, Mr Daniel Armah-Attoh, said the scorecards were unique in highlighting the perspectives of ordinary citizens who were the intended beneficiaries of the SDGs.

 
“The SDGs are intended to improve the lives of people; numerous indicators and scorecards are being used to track progress. Looking at how these citizens’ assessment compares or contrasts with other SDG indicators should stimulate debate, help identify gaps and support action to move forward in each country,” he added.

Read also: Ghanaians willing to pay taxes - Afrobarometer study

Background

Afrobarometer national partners in all regions of Africa conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of respondent’s choice.

In a most recent survey in the country, the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) interviewed a nationally representative, random and stratified probability sample of 2,400 adult citizens.

The 17 SDGs are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

The goals are expected to drive national and global development agenda for the next 15 years.