The United Nations (UN) program delivery has helped tackle poverty, improve living standards, and drastically reduce maternal mortality in Ghana.

This is as contained in the UN's Ghana 2025 Annual Results Report, which was launched in Accra on Tuesday, June 16.

According to the international organisation’s Country Team in Ghana, it increased its programme delivery rate from 64% in 2024 to 80% in 2025, investing $113.3 million through 34 UN agencies to support a wide range of development initiatives across the country.

Consequently, these interventions contributed to a decline in maternal mortality, with deaths falling from 310 to 234 per 100,000 live births, a reduction of 76 deaths, representing a 24.5% decline during the period.

However, despite the UN’s intervention, Ghana’s Gender Ministry last year indicated that 900 mothers lost their lives. Speaking about the situation, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, noted that Ghana’s maternal mortality ratio has seen only marginal improvement over the past decade, declining from 316 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010 to 301 in 2020, marking just 16 deaths in decline in a decade

She warned that the slow pace of improvement risks Ghana’s chances of missing the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of reducing maternal mortality to 70 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Statistics

Ghana’s cases in the last few years have been fluctuating; however, reports indicate that these deaths have consistently been linked to obstetric haemorrhage (severe bleeding) and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, eclampsia), with delays in care and weak health systems compounding the problem.

In 2010, Ghana saw 316 deaths per 100,000 live births, caused by haemorrhage and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. By 2020, Ghana recorded a decline of 15 deaths per 100,000 live births, but systemic issues such as weak referral systems, poor emergency transport, and shortages of skilled birth attendants continued to drive fatalities.

A sharp improvement was reported in 2023, when the Ghana Health Service (GHS) documented 100 deaths per 100,000 live births. This was attributed to expanded antenatal coverage, improved emergency obstetric care, and stronger community health services. However, in 2024, the ratio rose slightly to 102 deaths per 100,000 live births, showing that progress was fragile and easily reversed by gaps in blood supply chains, delayed care, and socio-cultural barriers that kept many women from seeking timely hospital delivery.

UNCT Ghana Annual Report 2025_FinalDownload

UN 2025 investment in Ghana, results

SecutityThe UN’s increased investment was directed through seven joint programmes implemented with 185 partners, focusing on poverty reduction and economic inclusion, health, education and social services, peace and governance, disability inclusion and gender equality, as well as climate finance and digital transformation.

Per the report, while the cases of peace and security remain ongoing challenges, its intervention has been able to chalk some successes. Citing the Gbinyiri and Bawku conflict, which displaced about 34,000 people and 150 deaths respectively, the UN highlighted that its intervention helped increase immigration patrol coverage, expanded from 12 kilometres to 22 kilometres as part of efforts to strengthen border security.

Again, the UN’s reported gains in digital literacy, particularly among about 24,226 students, while 54 journalists also received training on how to report on sensitive conflict-related cases to prevent and instigate conflict. Peace messaging campaigns reached about 100,000 radio listeners and generated 1.5 million video views.

Gender equality

Gender equality programmes instituted by the UN nationwide have reduced the prevalence of child marriages, reducing it by 2.9 percentage points, from 19 percent to 16.1 percent.

WasteOn climate action, the report said 24,152 tonnes of organic waste were diverted from landfills, while technical support was provided to develop Ghana’s disaster risk finance strategy, including a parametric flood insurance solution expected to protect about 4.9 million people.

Speaking at the launch, UN Resident Coordinator Zia Choudhury attributed the improved delivery rate to stronger coordination among agencies and enhanced accountability.

“We are improving our delivery rates because we are ready to deliver with greater discipline, greater reliability across the 34 agencies,” he said.

Mr Choudhury stressed that although the UN’s annual expenditure of more than $113 million may appear modest compared to national infrastructure spending, the resources were carefully targeted to maximise impact.

“The UN’s annual envelope of over $113m may not seem large compared to national infrastructure spending, but is managed with careful targeting, careful coordination, and careful accounting,” he said.

He cited improved access to quality education, nutrition support, increased access to seeds and finance for farmers, protection and economic opportunities for women and girls, and stronger climate resilience among communities as some of the key outcomes achieved through the programmes.

David Klotey Collison, Coordinating Director of Operations at the Ministry of Finance, said the results reflected the strength of the partnership between Ghana and the UN system.

“Over the past year, Ghana has made deliberate efforts to strengthen fiscal policy, optimise public investment and enhance domestic resource mobilisation, but international cooperation was necessary in achieving the country’s sustainable development goals,“ he said.

The Finance Ministry official expressed appreciation to the UN and its partners for their continued support and pledged to deepen cooperation to achieve greater development outcomes in the years ahead.