Accra: Professor Charles Ackah, a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), has identified Ghana's emerging 'care economy' as an untapped frontier for mass employment. Prof. Ackah emphasized that formalizing the adult caregiving sector could create thousands of sustainable jobs for university and high school graduates currently facing long-term unemployment.
According to Ghana News Agency, recent analysis utilizing data from the 2020 census reveals a significant gap in the national social protection framework. While child care and maternity leave are institutionalized, elder care remains an informal burden. In rural areas, many 85-year-olds are living alone due to youth migration. Prof. Ackah highlighted that every household with an elderly person could become a formal site for economic engagement.
Prof. Ackah explained that transitioning from informal family care to a professionalized industry could improve the quality of life for seniors and address youth unemployment. The potential for job growth in this sector is significant, as increased life expectancy naturally raises the demand for specialized care. He proposed that young people, who often wait years for civil service postings, could be trained as specialized caregivers, creating a new professional class focused on geriatrics.
The shift would also provide an economic benefit by enabling highly qualified professionals, particularly women, to return to the labor force, who would otherwise need to resign or reduce work hours to provide unpaid care at home. To unlock these job prospects, Prof. Ackah suggested that Ghana must move away from the current 'out-of-pocket' model and establish a national policy, specialized training curriculum, and sustainable financing system.
Prof. Ackah noted that comparing Ghana to more advanced systems in Europe and South Africa shows how a structured care economy can become a pillar of national development. With proper state intervention and involvement from local assemblies to map elderly needs, the care sector could transition from a private family challenge into a formal economic engine that supports both social welfare and mass employment.