The number of people facing food insecurity in the country reduced marginally from 13.4 million in the second quarter of last year (2025 Q2) to 12.5 million in the third quarter of the same year (2025 Q3).
Prior to this, the food-insecure population had risen from 11.2 million in the first quarter of 2024 to a peak of 13.4 million in 2025 Q2, prompting the Government Statistician, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, to recommend to the government to target high-burden regions with tailored food security, agriculture, and market-access solutions instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.
These were contained in the Food Insecurity Report released by the Ghana Statistical Service in Accra yesterday.
Volatility
The document, however, revealed that food insecurity in the country remains volatile and unevenly distributed, with 12.5 million people affected as of the third quarter of 2025, despite a marginal improvement recorded earlier in the year, according to the latest quarterly report.
Presenting the report, Dr Iddrisu said food insecurity was not merely a welfare concern but a critical development challenge with far-reaching implications for the economy and human capital.
The report, which covers the period from the first quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025, was based on data from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey that supports Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Two, which seeks to end hunger, improve nutrition and promote sustainable food systems.
“Our goal for this release is very simple, to provide clear, timely and credible evidence that helps stakeholders, including government, businesses, communities and development partners, make better decisions in the food security space,” Dr Iddrisu said.
Rising trend
The report further indicated that national food insecurity prevalence increased from 35.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 to 38.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, after peaking in the second quarter of 2025.
Dr Iddrisu explained that “despite the recent easing we have seen in food insecurity, the overall trend since the 2024 quarter one is upward, indicating rising vulnerability”.
In absolute terms, the number of food-insecure persons rose from 11.2 million in the first quarter of 2024 to a peak of 13.4 million in the second quarter of 2025, before declining to 12.5 million in the third quarter.
“Just within one quarter, the number of food-insecure persons reduced by 900,723 persons from 13.4 million in quarter two to 12.5 million in quarter three,” he said.
Measurement
The Ghana Statistical Service uses the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), which aligns with SDG indicator 2.1.2 and allows for international comparison.
“This approach asks households eight simple questions about their experiences over the last three months — Did you worry about having enough food? Did you eat less than you should have?
Did you skip meals? And did anyone go a whole day without eating?”
Households that respond “no” to all eight questions are classified as food secure.
Those who answer “yes” to four to six questions are moderately food insecure, while those who answer “yes” to seven or eight questions fall under severe food insecurity.
The report also highlighted what it described as a “triple burden” of food insecurity, multidimensional poverty and unemployment.
Between the second and third quarters of 2025, the number of people facing all three challenges increased by 19,455 persons, representing a 9.4 per cent rise.
Recommendations
The report recommends that the government target high-burden regions, expand nutrition-sensitive social protection, link food security interventions to job creation, and invest in education and rural resilience.
While civil society organisations were urged to support vulnerable groups and strengthen community livelihoods, development partners were also encouraged to scale up targeted financing, support gender-responsive programmes and invest in data systems, among other suggestions.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
