UN in Ghana Reports Significant Development Gains in 2025, Amid Tightening Global Financing

The United Nations in Ghana today released its 2025 Annual Results Report, documenting a year of meaningful progress across poverty reduction, health, education, food security, and peacebuilding, even as constrained global financing and a new government transition created headwinds for development delivery.

Working alongside the Government of Ghana, civil society, the private sector, and development partners, the UN Country Team deployed USD 113.3 million in programmatic expenditure against USD 140.8 million in available resources, achieving an 80% delivery rate, up from 64.6% in 2024.

"What stands out clearly is the strength of collaboration," says the UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, H.E. Zia Choudhury. "The UN system in Ghana increasingly works as one team, bringing together different mandates and areas of expertise to support national priorities." He noted that the UN Country Team remains fully committed to supporting Ghana's development ambitions, from strengthening resilient institutions to unlocking the financing needed to accelerate progress on the SDGs.

The Coordinating Director of the Ministry of Finance emphasized Ghana's vision for a more mature partnership with the UN, shifting from traditional aid to strategic co-investments that support long-term development. He noted that, as fiscal stability improves, priorities are shifting toward youth employment, agricultural transformation, climate resilience, and stronger social protection systems. He also emphasized the importance of innovative financing, public-private partnerships, technology and data-driven solutions. “We will continue to provide the necessary fiscal leadership and enabling environment to ensure that our partnership with the United Nations flourishes.” He stated. 

Report Highlights

Poverty and Human Development

UN-supported efforts contributed to a significant reduction in multidimensional poverty, falling from 24.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 21.9% in the third quarter of 2025, representing approximately 950,000 people moving out of poverty. Maternal mortality improved from a baseline of 310 to 234 deaths per 100,000 live births, and child marriage rates declined from 19% to 16.1%.

Health and Education

The UN supported nationwide HPV vaccination, reaching approximately 1.8 million girls, and deployed 1.8 million doses of cholera vaccine and 33,000 doses of Mpox vaccines in high-risk areas. Viral load testing for people living with HIV increased from 50% to 63%, with over 90% suppression rate achieved. In education, more than 41,000 young people accessed Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and 79,000 learners benefited from improved teaching materials.

Climate Resilience and Livelihoods

UN-supported efforts contributed to reducing ozone-depleting substances consumption by 85%, surpassing the 74% target, and restored over 13,000 hectares of degraded land, including 300,000 trees and 30,000 mangroves planted. Over 30,000 farm and fisheries value-chain actors, 59% women, received support to strengthen productivity and financial resilience, yielding USD 283,000 in additional revenue and USD 4 million in savings.

Peace and Security

With UN support, Ghana's immigration service expanded border patrols from 12 to 22 kilometres per day, with response times under 30 minutes. The UN trained 1,203 stakeholders in early warning and conflict management, reached 100,000 radio listeners with peace messaging, and supported registration of 3,875 newly arrived Burkinabè refugees, contributing to a total refugee and asylum-seeker population of 32,410.

Financing and Partnerships

The Government of Ghana remains the UN’s most important partner, alongside a broad network of development partners. The UN implemented seven joint programmes and developed four new ones, including initiatives on climate-resilient value chains, AI-enabled health systems, and child labour elimination.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead to 2026, the UN will continue to work closely with the Government of Ghana to deliver on current priorities while advancing the next Cooperation Framework.”

Three priorities will guide collective action: peace, security, and stabilization; food systems, nutrition, and health; and digitalization as a cross-cutting enabler.

The report also acknowledges the impact of the UN80 reform agenda, which may result in changes to entity configurations and a more constrained funding environment. The UNCT has committed to engaging transparently with staff, Government, and partners as these changes unfold.

The full report is available at Ghana.un.org