Many families across Ghana are finding it harder to get enough food to eat. New figures from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) show that the number of people facing food insecurity has increased by 7.3 percent over the past year, raising serious concerns about the country’s progress toward ending hunger.
The report indicates that in the first quarter of 2024, about 12.4 million Ghanaians were food insecure. By the end of the year, the number had risen to 13.3 million. That’s nearly one million more people struggling to find or afford enough food for their families.
Food insecurity means a person or household doesn’t have regular access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food. For many people, it means skipping meals, eating smaller portions, or relying on cheaper, less healthy foods just to get by. And the impact goes beyond hunger.
Behind these numbers are daily struggles playing out in homes across the country. The Volta Region recorded the highest incidence of food insecurity at 52 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, up slightly from 51.5 percent earlier in the year. In Greater Accra, food insecurity rose sharply from 20.2 percent to 29 percent over the same period, highlighting the increasing vulnerability of urban households.
The gap between male and female headed households remains significant, with women more likely to face food insecurity. Female headed households saw an increase from 40.4 percent in the first quarter to 44 percent in the last quarter of 2024, compared to 37.1 percent among male headed households. This gender disparity underscores how hunger hits different groups unevenly.
The GSS released these figures as the world marked World Food Day on October 16, observed annually to highlight the importance of food security and good nutrition. This year’s theme, “Right to Foods for a Better Life and a Better Future,” reminds everyone that access to nutritious food is a basic human right.
The connection between food insecurity and child health is particularly troubling. The proportion of households with underweight children under five increased from 38 percent to 44.9 percent. When children don’t get enough nutritious food, they’re less healthy, perform worse in school, and face lifelong consequences. It’s a cycle that’s hard to break.
The number of Ghanaians who are both food insecure and multidimensionally poor grew by 400,000, reaching 4.1 million by the end of 2024. This overlap between hunger and poverty shows why simple solutions won’t work. People are dealing with multiple challenges at once.
Although Ghana has made progress in improving food production over the years, the growing number of people facing food insecurity shows that more must be done. Farmers continue to battle unpredictable rainfall, limited access to fertilizer, and poor road networks that make it difficult to transport produce to markets. When farmers can’t produce enough food, shortages occur. That drives prices even higher and deepens the hardship for consumers who are already stretched thin.
The GSS is calling for stronger policies to improve access to nutritious food, support smallholder farmers, and promote climate resilient agriculture. The Service recommended targeted efforts to close the regional and gender gaps in food access. It’s not just about growing more food, it’s about making sure that food reaches the people who need it most.
“Food insecurity is not inevitable. With the right data, the right policies, and the right partnerships, every Ghanaian can have access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food. The time to act is now, so that no table is left empty,” the GSS statement said.
Creating a stronger and more reliable food system will protect the poor and vulnerable, especially during difficult economic times and periods of bad weather. That’s not just policy talk, it’s about preventing families from going to bed hungry. The question now is whether these statistics will translate into concrete action or just become another report gathering dust.
