Prepared by Shirley Jeoffreys, Finmark

1. Impact of COVID-19 on the welfare of
rural households in Ghana (round 1,
final)
Funded by USAID
Prepared by
Shirley Jeoffreys, Finmark

2. COVID-19 in Ghana
▪ First case: March 12, 2020
o September 2, 2020: 44,460 cases, 276 deaths
▪ Swift government action:
o Lockdown in major cities, Accra and Kumasi, declared on 30 March after
reporting sixth confirmed case
o Contact tracing & isolation, testing
o Airport closed, social distancing, educational institution and religious places
closed, large gatherings banned
o 20 April onwards- businesses permitted to operate following rules of social
distancing, gatherings not permitted, schools remain closed

3. Phone Survey
▪ First round of phone survey conducted from mid August to early-September
with 543 households; four more rounds of data collection foreseen
▪ Focus on behavioral responses to COVID-19, income changes, food and
nutrition security, water security, and mobility

4. Location of
respondents
Northern
Ghana

5. Household descriptives
▪ 267 female (49%) and 276 male (55%) respondents were interviewed
▪ 83% of the respondents were married
▪ 68% female and 54% male respondents had no formal schooling
▪ 16% male and 9% female respondents had completed secondary school
▪ Nearly three quarters of (74%) respondents have farming or raising
livestock as their main activity- 67% female and 81% male

6. COVID-19 and household welfare
▪ 72% households suffered a loss of income due to COVID-19
▪ Households primarily relied on their savings (52%) and sold assets (42%)
to deal with the income loss however many also borrowed money (38%)
▪ A lower proportion of women were engaged in productive work in the week
preceding the survey however time spent by women on productive work is
approximately 1.5 times that of men
▪ 59% shared that their mobility has reduced due to COVID-19, no
significant difference between male and female respondents

7. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Male respondents Female respondents
ShareofHouseholds
Yes No
Income loss due to Covid-19
n=276 male
n=267 female

8. Coping mechanisms to deal with loss of income
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Use savings Borrow money Sale of assets Government
transfers
NGO transfers
ShareofHouseholds
Male respondents Female respondents
Filter: those who have lost income
n=210 male
n=181 female

9. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Male respondents Female respondents
ShareofHouseholds
Yes No
Worked in the last 7 days
Filtered on those who have an occupation
n=268 male
n=255 female

10. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
More Less Same
ShareofHouseholds
Comparison of time worked by
respondents in the last 7 days
Male respondents Female respondents
Time worked in the last 7 days compared to before COVID-19
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
More Less Same
ShareofHouseholds
Comparison of time worked by spouse
in the last 7 days
Male respondents Female respondents
Filtered on those who are married
n=236 male
n=217 female
n=276 male
n=267 female

11. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Buy food Sell food Work Medical care Group
meetings
Socialize Collect water
ShareofHouseholds
Male respondents Female respondents
Mobility: leave the house to…. in the last 7 days (yes)
n=276 male
n=267 female

12. Food security and dietary diversity
▪ Male respondents report lower food insecurity compared to female
respondents
▪ 66% male respondents reported worrying about inadequate food in the last
two weeks as compared to 72% female respondents
▪ 69% male respondents were forced to have unhealthy food in the two
weeks preceding the survey due to lack of resources, while a higher
proportion of female respondents (75%) reported having unhealthy food

13. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Other fruits
Other vegetables
Vitamin-A rich fruits and vegetables
Dark leafy greens and vegetables
Eggs
Meat, poultry, fish
Dairy
Nuts and seeds
Pulses
Grains, roots and tubers
Share of Households
Female respondents Male respondents
Food consumption in the last 24 hours
n=276 male
n=267 female

14. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
ShareofHouseholds
Minimum Dietary Diversity Score for Women (MDD-W)
At least 5 food groups consumed in last 24 hours
Number of Food Groups
Dietary diversity score
MDD-W=0
36%
MDD-W=1
64%

15. WASH and HWISE
▪ 83% of the households have access to piped water however for a
significant majority this is outside of their dwelling (64%)
▪ Less than half of all households had access to a toilet/pit latrine (43%)
▪ Concerns regarding water access are very similar for women and men

16. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All respondents Male respondents Female respondents
ShareofHouseholds
Source of drinking water
Piped water Dug well/bore well/water pump Water from spring Surface water
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
n=276 male
n=267 female

17. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
All respondents Male respondents Female respondents
ShareofHouseholds
Toilet facilities
Toilet/pit latrine Bush
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
n=276 male
n=267 female

18. Household Water Insecurity Experience Scale (HWISE)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All respondents Male respondents Female respondents
ShareofHouseholds Frequency of worrying about water availability
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
n=276 male
n=267 female

19. Household Water Insecurity Experience Scale (HWISE)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All respondents Male respondents Female respondents
ShareofHouseholds Frequency of changing plans due to water availability
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
n=276 male
n=267 female

20. Household Water Insecurity Experience Scale (HWISE)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All respondents Male respondents Female respondents
ShareofHouseholds
Availability of drinking water
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
n=276 male
n=267 female

21. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All respondents Male respondents Female respondents
ShareofHouseholds
Frequency of not washing hands when necessary
Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always
Household Water Insecurity Experience Scale (HWISE)
n=276 male
n=267 female

22. Conclusions
▪ Household welfare severely compromised by COVID-19
▪ To cope with the income loss, households have resorted to using savings,
selling assets and borrowing money
▪ Two thirds or more of households report food insecurity; and most
households resorted to consuming less nutritious food
▪ Half of all households do not wash hands as often as they would like to
▪ More than half of all women do not have access to toilet facilities
▪ Next round coming up (planned for late-September)
▪ Will enable us to track indicators through time