COVID-19 in Ghana: Changes and the Way Forward

Abstract

As a lower-middle income country, Ghana is noted for having a progressive economy, health system, and family trends. However, COVID-19, with it associated restrictions, has brought changes to various aspects of Ghanaians’ lives. In this paper, we review information from government websites, online media websites, social media, academic articles, and anecdotal evidence to track changes brought about by the pandemic. Specifically, we focus on economic well-being, education and schooling, family interaction, mental health and communication in community as well ethnic, cultural, and social class variations. Findings show that the COVID-19 pandemic is changing life for all Ghanaians, notably by reinforcing existing inequalities and highlighting previously known gaps in service, coverage, and access across multiple sectors, including healthcare, business and education. Family patterns are changing for both the nuclear and extended family units. The pandemic has created both challenges and opportunities for parents to engage with their children. Anxiety levels are heightened and psychological services have consequently been made widely available. Education has slowly and unevenly gone virtual. Further, the crisis has generated local innovations to meet the nation’s needs during the pandemic. The findings call for national reforms in the production and distribution of goods and services in all sectors as well as empirical work into the long-term effects of the pandemic on Ghanaians.