A team from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) visited Accra this week to explore Ghana’s potential participation in UN-Habitat’s Quality of Life (QoL) Initiative.
This initiative aims to enhance living standards in urban areas by providing data-driven insights for city leaders.
During their visit from March 25 to 26, 2025, the delegation met with key stakeholders, including the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), the Ghana Statistical Service, and the United Nations Country Team. They discussed how the QoL Initiative could support Ghana’s urban development agenda.
Dr. Felix Addo Yobo, Director of the Development Policy Division at the NDPC, underscored the initiative’s significance, stating: “The Quality of Life Initiative puts a human face to development.”
He emphasized that economic progress should translate into tangible improvements in citizens’ well-being, not just statistical growth.
He expressed interest in working with the ECA on data collection and knowledge exchange, stressing that identifying challenges is only the first step.
“The key is learning from successful strategies elsewhere and tailoring them to Ghana’s context,” he noted.
He also highlighted the potential benefits of conducting district-level QoL assessments to refine policies and drive positive change.
With nearly 58% of Ghanaians now living in cities, outpacing the continental urbanization rate and enhancing urban living conditions remained a top priority.
Hence, the QoL Initiative aligns with this goal by integrating global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) benchmarks with local community needs.
At the Ghana Statistical Service, discussions focused on identifying data strengths and gaps related to QoL indicators. Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, emphasized the need to look beyond GDP as the sole measure of progress.
“Social indicators are crucial to truly understanding people’s living conditions,” he said.
He urged the ECA to further promote evidence-based policymaking and also proposed co-developing a QoL framework that balances global aspirations with Ghana’s unique needs.
Mr. Giuseppe Tesoriere of the ECA commended Ghana’s dedication to people-centered development, highlighting the QoL Initiative’s potential to transform data into actionable policies that improve lives.
The UN Country Team also engaged with the delegation, discussing how various UN agencies in Ghana could contribute to the initiative’s success.
Accra is one of four cities included in ECA’s scoping missions, which assess urban life factors such as access to services and housing opportunities.
