Building Human Capital : Lessons from Country Experiences – Ghana
Ghana has made deliberate efforts to invest in health and education in the last 60 years, which has resulted in substantial gains in both economic growth and human capital outcomes. This case study examines the recent human capital developments in...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/243181595394321175/Building-Human-Capital-Lessons-from-Country-Experiences-Ghana http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34205 |
| Summary: | Ghana has made deliberate efforts to
invest in health and education in the last 60 years, which
has resulted in substantial gains in both economic growth
and human capital outcomes. This case study examines the
recent human capital developments in Ghana in the context of
the World Bank’s Human Capital Index, launched in 2018.
First, it identifies the two components that have been key
drivers of the Ghana’s improving HCI scores in recent years,
namely childhood stunting and enrollment rates. The study
then goes on to identify the specific policies and programs
in Ghana that are probable contributors to the favorable
developments in childhood stunting and enrollment rates with
the aim of enabling policymakers in other countries to learn
from what worked and what did not work in Ghana as they
embark on their own national journeys to build human
capital. In so doing, the paper deliberately focuses on
multisectoral initiatives. The report finds that some of
Ghana’s most successful programs and policies have included
strong elements of a whole of government approach, involving
not just either the health or education sectors but
frequently both, as well as other sectors, such as
agriculture and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene). These
successful programs and policies include the Ghana School
Feeding Program (GSFP); the National Health Insurance Scheme
(NHIS) (especially in the beginning as sustainability has
increasingly become an issue in later years); water and
sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities; Free Compulsory
Universal Basic Education (FCUBE), including the innovative
financing provided by the Ghana Education Trust Fund
(GETFund), and adult literacy programs. |
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