The COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to increase global extreme poverty to about 150 million people by 2021. While it is difficult to state the full socio-economic impact of the pandemic, it is envisaged to have adverse effects on vulnerable groups and participants within informal sectors of many economies, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations report that the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is being threatened by poverty, inequality, and exclusion; as a result, the most vulnerable are being further marginalized. This study examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on SDG 2 and livelihoods in Ghana, using the nationally representative Ghana Living Standards Survey 2016/2017 (GLSS7) and district-level COVID-19 incidence data from Ghana. This project is implemented with support from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) from Liverpool John Moores University.
Expected Duration: 3 months (May 2020 – July 2020)
Principal Investigator: Prof Peter Quartey
Co-Investigators: Dr. Ralph Armah, Prof. Cynthia Akwei