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Over 13 million Ghanaians were food insecure by the end of 2024 – marking a worrying 7.3 percent increase within the year, according to latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). The GSS report, released to mark World Food Day 2025 on October 16, 2025, revealed that the number of people struggling with access to adequate and nutritious food rose from 12.4 million in the first quarter (Q1) to 13.3 million in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024. These figures underscore the deepening challenge of hunger and poor nutrition despite ongoing national efforts to improve food security. This year’s theme, ‘Hand in hand for better food and a better future!’, calls for global solidarity in building a more sustainable and equitable food system for everyone. However, the GSS findings highlight persistent regional, gender and poverty-related disparities that continue to undermine this goal. Regional and gender disparities persist Volta Region recorded the highest incidence of food insecurity, rising slightly from 51.5 percent in Q1 to 52 percent in Q4 2024. In contrast, Greater Accra Region maintained the lowest levels but still saw a significant increase from 20.2 percent to 29 percent over the same period. Gender differences remain pronounced – with the proportion of female-headed households that were food insecure up from 40.4 percent in Q1 to 44 percent in Q4 2024 while male-headed households increased from 32.4 percent to 37.1 percent. This leaves a persistent 7 percent gender gap, indicating that women-led households remain more vulnerable to food insecurity. Child nutrition and poverty impact The report also revealed links between food insecurity and child malnutrition. Among households with underweight children under five years, food insecurity rose sharply from 38 percent to 44.9 percent – while for households with children experiencing wasting, the prevalence fell slightly from 46.2 percent to 43.5 percent. On poverty, the number of people who were both food insecure and multidimensionally poor – deprived across income, health, education and living standards – increased by 400,000 from 3.7 million to 4.1 million between Q1 and Q4 2024. This, according to GSS, reinforces the need for integrated policies that address hunger alongside other socioeconomic deprivations. Here’s how much you will pay for fuel this week after price reductions Coordinated action GSS also urged policymakers to strengthen data-driven interventions that enhance food availability, improve access to nutritious diets and promote climate-resilient agriculture. It stated that priority actions should include empowering smallholder farmers, closing regional and gender gaps and fostering partnerships among government, development partners and local communities. “As Ghana works toward achieving SDG 2 – Zero Hunger, ensuring that no household is left behind requires collective effort. Food insecurity is not inevitable. With the right data, the right policies and the right partnerships, every Ghanaian can have access to safe, nutritious and affordable food. The time to act is now, so that no table is left empty,” the press statement revealing the finding stated. CSOs push for healthy diet policies In a related development and in line with the World Food Day observation, SEND Ghana and the Ghana Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics (GAND) called on government to mandate front-of-pack warning food labels on all processed and ultra-processed foods. The organisations said such a policy is crucial to protect consumers from unhealthy diets and reduce the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. They stressed that front-of-pack labels will empower Ghanaians to make quick, informed food choices while encouraging food manufacturers to reformulate products to meet healthier standards. Watch the latest edition of BizTech below
