The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has lauded Ghana for demonstrating strong commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, highlighting the country’s progress in budget execution and transparent tracking of SDG-related spending.
Speaking at the launch of Ghana’s 2023 SDG Budget and Expenditure Report, UNICEF officials praised the accountability mechanism underpinning the country’s SDG financing framework, noting that only a few nations worldwide had adopted such a system.
According to the report, Ghana increased its SDG-linked expenditure from GHS 83 billion in 2022 to GHS 180 billion in 2023, signalling significant investment across health, education, social protection and human capital development.
Paulina Sarvilahti, UNICEF Ghana’s Chief of Social Policy and Inclusion, described the Ministry of Finance’s leadership in establishing the system as exemplary. There are very few countries who have been brave enough to take this step to really have this kind of accountability tool in place. It’s laudable that the Ministry of Finance is a frontrunner in this,” she said.
Although the latest Sustainable Development Report ranks Ghana 120th out of 193 UN Member States in overall SDG performance, Ms. Sarvilahti remained optimistic that the country’s data-driven approach would accelerate progress. She noted that global challenges including climate pressures, economic shocks and lingering COVID-19 impacts had complicated SDG delivery everywhere, but said Ghana’s monitoring framework ensured that resources reached the right beneficiaries.
She highlighted gains in education, gender-related initiatives and poverty-reduction interventions, adding that the inclusion of child-focused indicators in the 2023 report marked a major advancement.
Ms. Sarvilahti called for more integrated planning, efficient resource use and strengthened cooperation between the government and development partners, stressing the need for targeted interventions that maximise impact. “We cannot stop. This is the time we need to really put more effort and be more decisive, more targeted,” she said.
UNICEF Country Representative, Osama Makiawi Khogali, also commended Ghana for its long-standing leadership on child rights, recalling its distinction as the first country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990. He, however, urged intensified action on poverty reduction, pointing out that 73% of Ghanaian children continue to experience multidimensional poverty, with 28% living in monetary poverty.
His remarks came as Ghana marked World Children’s Day, which coincided with the launch of the SDG expenditure report. He emphasised that targeted SDG investments remained crucial for accelerating national progress toward the 2030 goals.
Director of Budget at the Ministry of Finance, Isaac Fraikue, expressed confidence that Ghana would meet the SDG deadline, saying the government had firmly integrated SDG tracking into its operational framework. He explained that the reporting process allowed for timely corrective measures, adding: “We definitely meet the targets by the time it’s due because we’re working so hard as a country.”
Mr. Fraikue noted that the report went beyond tracking expenditure and told a broader story of Ghana’s development trajectory, underscoring the government’s commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind.
He said the next phase of the process would focus on localising SDG budget reporting and deepening stakeholder engagement to strengthen transparency, accountability and evidence-based financial decision-making.
