Gender Data Ghana (GDG) has urged the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the 2027 National Budget is gender-responsive, warning that the success of the government's proposed "New Economy" programme will depend on clearly defined channels for effective participation of women.
GDG, an independent and non-partisan think tank on advancing gender equality in Ghana, made the call in a press release issued on Thursday, November 6, 2026, and signed by its Executive Director, Dr Beatrice Duncan.
The organisation said it was encouraged by the government's plan to invest an estimated $10 billion over four years in a new economic programme dubbed the "New Economy," aimed at driving growth in agriculture, manufacturing and job creation.
According to GDG, the intervention's success will, however, require deliberate inclusion of women through six suggested priority trajectories.
On economic inclusion and women's agricultural productivity, GDG called for adequate and predictable funding to expand quality social protection services as critical ingredients for lifting vulnerable populations out of poverty. It said closing the gender gap in agricultural production was key to unlocking the sector's full potential and boosting poverty reduction, food security and inclusive growth.
The think tank therefore called for targeted support to women farmers with credit, agricultural extension services, market information, functional literacy and affordable childcare, and urged government to provide clear timelines for the establishment of the proposed Women's Bank.
Maternal, child health
On maternal and child health, GDG expressed concern that despite Ghana's extensive health policy and institutional framework, persistent shortages of essential medicines, inadequate infrastructure and unequal access continue to undermine service delivery.
It noted that maternal mortality, estimated at 243 deaths per 100,000 live births, remained alarmingly above the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of fewer than 70 by 2030, and urged increased and predictable funding for primary health care, maternal and reproductive health services, essential supplies such as hospital beds, oxygen and emergency referral systems, while supporting local production of essential medical supplies as a youth employment avenue.
Child protection
For child protection, GDG said recent allegations of sexual abuse involving students at Obuasi SHTS showed that child protection required adequately resourced and independent systems
It called for increased funding for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, especially its Department of Social Welfare, and the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service to ensure timely interventions.
On infrastructure, the organisation said infrastructural development must be expanded and accelerated in 2027, noting that poor roads and prolonged construction were restricting women's access to social services, especially for pregnant women, and present real risks to timely emergency obstetric care and preventable deaths.
GDG also called for investment in gender data and accountability, urging support for the Ghana Statistical Service to generate gender statistics, including adequate funding for a national Time Use Survey in 2027 to establish how women and men allocate their time between paid work, unpaid care and other activities.
Fiscal discipline
On fiscal discipline, the think tank said instead of cuts in social services, including water and sanitation which were woefully inadequate, fiscal discipline should focus on protecting revenues from the widening tax net through rigorous efforts at combatting corruption, unchecked public spending and delays in paying salary arrears.
