Food insecurity in Ghana continues to deepen, affecting household welfare, labour productivity and long-term development, despite signs of easing in recent months. This is according to the latest Quarterly Food Insecurity Report covering 2024 Quarter 1 to 2025 Quarter 3, released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

The report shows that national food insecurity prevalence increased from 35.3 percent in the first quarter of 2024 to 38.1 percent by the third quarter of 2025, reflecting a volatile and upward trend. Food insecurity peaked at 41.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, before declining slightly in the most recent quarter.

Speaking at the release, Government Statistician Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu said food insecurity should not be seen purely as a social challenge, stressing its broader implications for economic performance and national development.

“Food insecurity is not just a social issue. It affects household welfare, child health, global productivity, business confidence and ultimately national development,” he said.

Dr. Iddrisu noted that the report directly supports Ghana’s development agenda and Sustainable Development Goal Two, which seeks to end hunger, improve nutrition and promote sustainable food systems. He explained that the objective of the quarterly release is to provide credible, timely evidence to guide policy choices and interventions by government, businesses, communities and development partners.

The report is anchored on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), an internationally comparable measurement tool aligned with SDG Indicator 2.1.2. The methodology relies on eight experience-based questions that capture households’ food-related experiences over a three-month period, ranging from anxiety about food availability to extreme deprivation.

Using the Rasch statistical model, households are classified as food secure, moderately food insecure or severely food insecure. The data are drawn from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, allowing food insecurity to be monitored every three months rather than annually.

Beyond national averages, the report highlights sharp disparities across population groups. Food insecurity declined consistently with higher levels of education, with households headed by individuals with no formal education recording the highest prevalence, averaging 50 per cent, compared to 15 per cent among households headed by persons with tertiary education. Female-headed households, particularly in rural areas, were more exposed to moderate and severe food insecurity.

Household composition also played a critical role. Households with both children and elderly members recorded significantly higher food insecurity, averaging 44 per cent in 2025, while households with poor child health outcomes experienced similarly elevated levels. In rural areas, female-headed households with underweight members recorded food insecurity rates exceeding 80 per cent in the third quarter of 2025.

Regional disparities remained pronounced.

The Upper West, North East, Savanna and Volta regions consistently recorded the highest food insecurity rates, while Oti and Greater Accra recorded the lowest. Food insecurity in the Oti Region declined from 23.8 per cent to 18.4 per cent, while the Volta Region recorded the highest food insecurity rate among households with both children and elderly persons at 52.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2025.

Analysis of the individual FIES indicators showed that worrying about food was the most common experience nationally, affecting an average of 53 per cent of households. Severe deprivation, such as going an entire day without food, remained relatively low at 3.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2025. Rural households were more affected by eating less than they should compared to urban households.

In population terms, the scale of the challenge is stark. The number of food-insecure persons increased from 11.2 million people in the first quarter of 2024 to a peak of 13.4 million people in the second quarter of 2025, before easing slightly in the third quarter. Over the same period, the number of people experiencing a triple burden of food insecurity, multidimensional poverty and unemployment rose modestly by 9.4 per cent, representing an additional 19,455 persons between the second and third quarters of 2025.

Dr. Iddrisu said the findings underscore the sensitivity of food insecurity to economic conditions, seasonal factors and unexpected shocks, cautioning that the overall upward trend since early 2024 signals growing vulnerability.

The report concludes that while short-term improvements are possible, sustained and coordinated policy responses are required to reverse the trend and protect household welfare, productivity and long-term national development