UNICEF’s Social Sector Budget Briefs reveal a ‘worrying decline’ in some key social sector investments, despite overall growth

(Accra, Ghana) To make concrete gains in the overall development and opportunities for children in Ghana, there needs to be efficient, equitable and adequate fiscal allocation and spending, said UNICEF as the UN child-rights agency launched its 2023 Social Sector Budget Briefs this week.  

The UNICEF Social Sector Budget Briefs provide an analysis of the amount and breakdown of finances that are allocated and implemented across social sectors, including health, education, water, sanitation and hygiene and child and social protection.  In developing the Briefs, UNICEF engaged with Ministries and District Authorities across Ghana to identify and address challenges, particularly in respect of multi-dimensional poverty which impacts 73.3% of children in Ghana.

The Briefs have revealed an increase of 29% in nominal terms but a slight increase of 4% in real terms (accounting for inflation) to the social sector ministries in 2023.  However, a more analytical review of the social sector MDAs’ budgets has found that there is a decline in the rate of investment in key sectors:  

• The Ministry of Health’s budget as a share of the total government budget decreased from 7.6% in 2022 to 6.7% in 2023.

•  The Ministry of Education budget went down by 6.1% in real terms with the share of total government spending to be far below the global benchmark of 20% and the national commitment of 23%.  

• On a longer term, between 2019 and 2013, the share of the Education Ministry’s budget allocated to basic education has decreased (from 39.2% to 20%). UNICEF is urging for the investment in foundational learning to be increased and prioritized.    

• In 2022, 23% of the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection was allocated to Goods and Services.  However, this was reduced to 20% in 2023. It is to be noted that only four of the 261 district authorities met the minimum staffing requirement for social welfare and community development departments, affecting the delivery of such services at the local level. 

• Conversely, the budget for the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources increased from 0.14% in 2022 to 0.24% in 2023.  However, the cost-recovery within the sector is below optimal, with the recommendation that the water bill collection system is to be made more efficient.   

• In the sphere of Social Protection, despite being doubled in cash terms in 2023, the real value of the LEAP grants (i.e., adjusted for price inflation) has fallen by 47% since 2015 when the last cash increase was implemented reaching 1.5 million people who are living below the poverty line. There are 900, 000 eligible persons who are waiting to be enrolled unto the programme. For a cash transfer to be impactful, payments should meet at least 20% of household consumption expenditure. The transfer share of the LEAP cash grant using the 2022 grant values represented an average of 6.4% of the consumption expenditure of a one-member household.

“Investing in children’s health, rights and well-being is a must if the country wants to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals targets. Even if there is limited fiscal space, children shouldn’t be made to pay the price." 

Further detail of the fiscal analysis can be found in the 2023 UNICEF Budget Briefs including in the Budget Briefs Summary.  

"Unfortunately, across the world, children today live in a world impacted by poly-crises, in which the multifaceted effects of global heating, destabilizing conflicts and humanitarian situations, economic hardship and severe learning loss left in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to compound already difficult development the challenges which see SDG attainment pushed further away,” added Mr McAsey.  "This is why is it critical to examine budget decisions and the Budget Briefs are a very useful tool to better understand current prioritization, across the sectors that matter most for children such as education, health, social and child protection, water and sanitation. 

"Investing in children is not only moral imperative but also makes economic sense.”