This report tells you shortly about the steps Ghana has been taking towards the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals).

Ghana has good chances to achieve this goal. There has been some great progress, and if this kind of poverty reduction and economic growth continues, Ghana will meet the goal by 2015. During last 10 years the poverty rates have fallen a lot. In the beginning of the 90s almost half of the population suffered from poverty. Nowadays the percentage is about 30 per cent. Still many people suffer from hunger. About 45 percent of all child deaths are caused by lack of food. However, with fast progress and big steps, Ghana will achieve both halving the proportion of people living in poverty and hunger.

There wasn't much progress in this goal during the 90s. The rate of children going to school has remained 79 percent for years and the drop out rates are high. About 20 percent of boys and 30 percent of girls do not complete their education. About 20 to 25 percent of school age children are not at school. Also the condition of the school and the quality of teaching is not too good. But improvements are expected and it doesn't seem impossible for Ghana to take some more steps towards this goal by 2015.

The progress in this goal has been steady and the situation is improving all the time. Cultural customs, such as an early marriage, are making the progress slower. There was a girls' education unit founded in 1997 to focus on women's education. It is trying to make the access to education equal for both boys and girls. The unit is also trying to reduce the number of girls dropping out of school.

Even though the situation has been improving, the under-five mortality rate is still quite high in Ghana. About one out of nine children dies before their fifth birthday. In the beginning of the 90s about 120 children per 1000 died before their fifth birthday. In 2000 the number was about 100 per 1000. Ghana is moving slowly towards this goal and the rates are expected to fall way more by 2015.

Maternal mortality rates are quite high in Ghana. For example lack of food and some traditional practices keep the rate so high. In city areas it is more possible to have a health professional attending a birth. More and more women are able to receive treatment from a health professional during the pregnancy. In 1998 the percentage was 83 percent and in 2001 it was 96 percent. However, the situation has been improving recently and there is no reason why it wouldn't go on that way.

There was a report in 2000 that told that about 3 percent of the population aged between 15 and 49 are infected with HIV/AIDS. That makes about 330 000 people living with HIV/AIDS. The number was expected to grow to no less than 550 000 by 2004. When talking about malaria, the situation has been improving. Still almost 20 percent of all deaths are caused by malaria. There have been some acts made to stop this disease spreading.

Ghana seems to have lost about 79 percent of its forest during the last century. There are different units and organizations trying to improve this situation. The percentage of people with access to safe water rose from 49 percent in 1990 to 78 percent in 1998. The situation is worse in rural areas. In the beginning of the 90s about 50 percent of people in rural areas didn't have the chance to drink safe water. The situation worsened during the decade, but now it's improving again. In urban areas a little less than 30 percent of people do not have the access to safe water, but the rates are expected to fall quite a lot by 2015.

The economical growth has been slow in Ghana and it has some big debts. However, the government is trying to improve the situation as quickly as possible. One of the biggest problems in corruption. However, there was a debt relief in 2001 and that helped the country a little. Still it is not enough to make Ghana meet the goal by 2015. There should be more debt relief and faster economical growth in order to achieve this goal.