The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is urging the government to implement targeted interventions to address persistent inflation, especially in high-risk regions like the Upper West, where overall inflation has soared past 38%.
According to the May 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Upper West Region faces some of the highest inflation rates in the country. Food inflation there stands at 43.9%, while the cost of education services has surged by 57.6%.
Housing and utilities have recorded an alarming increase of 124.3%. Nationally, fish and seafood prices rose by 92.1% and oils and fats by 80.2%, both outpacing the general food inflation rate, which has eased slightly from 25% in April to 22.8% in May.
Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Eastern Regions remain the largest contributors to national inflation.
To combat these pressures, the GSS recommends strategic investments in post-harvest storage, transport infrastructure, and irrigation systems to stabilize prices and reduce losses.
Furthermore, expanding social protection programs in high-inflation sectors like food and education is also advised to shield vulnerable populations.
Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, Director of Economic Strategy at the Ministry of Finance, emphasized the need to promote local production as a sustainable approach to combat inflation.
Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), he said, can strengthen domestic supply chains and enhance economic resilience.
He also called for stronger collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Ghana to monitor inflation drivers and ensure better coordination between fiscal and monetary policies.
However, the GSS is also offering practical strategies for households to navigate the high-cost environment.
Given the significant role of food costs in total inflation, the agency advises bulk purchasing and shared buying of local produce as cost-saving measures.
Reducing discretionary spending on restaurants and entertainment, and prioritizing preventive health care, especially, amid a 20.1% rise in health-related inflation can also ease household budgets.
Also, families are encouraged to make full use of the National Health Insurance Scheme to reduce out-of-pocket health expenses.
For businesses, the GSS advocates a shift toward local sourcing to mitigate the impact of imported inflation, which is easing more slowly than local price pressures.
Firms are advised to avoid unnecessary price hikes during the disinflation period and instead build consumer trust through transparent pricing strategies.
The GSS also urges companies to tailor distribution approaches to reflect regional disparities in inflation, particularly in northern Ghana, where cost increases are most severe.
