Ghana risks widening inequality and weakening the systems designed to support children if it fails to balance investments across health, education, social protection and child welfare, according to a new UNICEF-backed study.

The report, Unlocking Potential Early: Rebalancing Public Spending for Children in Ghana, reveals that although children aged 0–5 years make up about one-third of Ghana’s child population, they receive only 13% of public spending on children.

Lead researcher and Managing Director of the Learning for Well-being Institute, Dominic Richardson, warned that gaps in one sector can undermine progress in others.

“The issue when there is no balance in the policy portfolio is it creates weaknesses in the overall system that is designed to care for children,” he said.

“If you don’t have cash benefits, some children are too poor to access childcare services or healthcare. If you don’t have healthcare systems, some children will be too sick to go to school. When you don’t have child protection, more children end up in child labour. The lack of some policies means some children can’t access all policies and that just creates inequality”he added.

The study, the first age-based analysis of public spending on children in Ghana, examined investments from pregnancy through age 17 and also assessed disparities based on household income and rural and urban residence.

It found that children from wealthier households receive nearly twice as much public investment per capita as children from poorer families, while significant rural-urban disparities persist, particularly in education and access to services.

Although Ghana performs relatively well in immunisation, under-five mortality and pre-primary school enrolment, the report identifies persistent challenges in nutrition, birth registration, child poverty and protection from violence.

Public spending remains heavily skewed toward education, which accounted for 3.1% of GDP in 2023, while social protection received only 0.23%, health about 2%, and child protection just 0.03%.

UNICEF modelling suggests that a comprehensive package of investments amounting to 7.2% of GDP could eliminate child poverty within three years, prevent up to 18,000 premature child deaths, achieve universal vaccination coverage and significantly improve school readiness.

To reverse the trend, Richardson urged Ghana to prioritise implementation of the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Policy.

“I think there are two very simple things to do. The first is to implement the early childhood care development policy, which is already on the books in Ghana. It’s an excellent policy,” he said.

He also recommended introducing a universal child benefit, beginning with the youngest children and gradually expanding coverage.

“That policy is shown to be one of the most effective policies anywhere in the world for delivering optimal child development,” he added.

According to UNICEF, investing earlier and more equitably in children would position Ghana as a frontrunner in Africa in ensuring every child has an equal opportunity to thrive.