Poverty among Ghanaians and citizens of four other African countries has dropped significantly, according to a new Afrobarometre report.

But the report shows a general rise in poverty levels across the African continent.

Just two years before the Millennium Development Goal benchmark year, roughly one in five Africans still frequently go without food, clean water or medical care.

This is in spite of the significant economic growth between October 2011 and June 2013 on the continent.

Afrobarometer (AB) conducts public opinion surveys that measure citizens' attitudes toward democracy, governance, the economy, leadership, identity, and other related issues.

The AB is an independent, non-partisan, African-based network of researchers. The organization aims to give the public a voice in policy making by providing high-quality public opinion data to policymakers, civil society organizations, academics, media, donors and investors, and ordinary Africans.

Afrobarometer surveys are based on nationally representative samples. These 34-country results therefore represent the views of approximately three-quarters (76%) of the continent’s population. Results from a 35th country, Ethiopia, will be available shortly. The total number of respondents in the 34 countries was 51,605.