Accra: New data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reveals that education and gender play crucial roles in combating food insecurity, with uneducated and female-headed households experiencing the greatest challenges.
According to Ghana News Agency, the quarterly food insecurity report covering the first quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025 highlights that households led by individuals without formal education faced a food insecurity rate of 50 percent, while those with tertiary education encountered a significantly lower rate of 15 percent.
The report further indicates that the prevalence of food insecurity among female-headed households peaked at 44.1 percent between the first and second quarters of 2025, compared to 38.7 percent in male-headed households. Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, the Government Statistician, emphasized during the report's release that education acts as a 'protective shield,' enhancing income opportunities and resilience against economic disturbances.
Dr. Iddrisu also underscored the relationship between food insecurity and child malnutrition, noting its broader implications for human capital, including learning, productivity, and health. He highlighted that, during the second and third quarters of 2025, food insecurity was highest among households without education at about 50 percent and lowest among those with tertiary education at approximately 15 percent.
He recommended government investment in education and child nutrition to mitigate long-term vulnerabilities, focusing on skills development, youth employment, and rural income diversification. Dr. Iddrisu also advocated for expanding nutrition-sensitive social protection, prioritizing female-headed households and families with children and the elderly, rather than implementing a one-size-fits-all approach.
He urged Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to utilize the data to identify vulnerable communities and adjust local development plans accordingly, while promoting community-based nutrition and livelihood programs.
Furthermore, the Government Statistician called on development partners to align their financial and technical support with the region-specific food insecurity patterns and nutrition risks identified in the data. He also encouraged civil society organizations to invest in interventions that support livelihood diversification, food value chains, and affordable nutrition, especially for vulnerable households.