A delegation from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) was in Accra this week to engage national and local stakeholders on Ghana’s potential participation in UN-Habitat’s Quality of Life (QoL) Initiative, a people-centred programme designed to improve living standards in cities.
From 25 to 26 March 2025, the delegation held consultations with the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), the Ghana Statistical Service and the United Nations Country Team.
The discussions focused on how the QoL Initiative could complement Ghana’s ongoing urban development efforts by building on its advanced work in localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leveraging its well-established data systems.
‘A human face to development’
“The Quality of Life Initiative puts a human face to development,” said Dr Felix Addo Yobo, Director of the Development Policy Division at NDPC. “It’s not just about numbers – it’s about how development impacts the well-being of citizens.”
He expressed strong interest in working with ECA on the QoL Initiative, particularly in the areas of data collection and experience sharing.
Dr Addo Yobo stressed that identifying challenges is only the first step; the real task lies in learning from successful approaches elsewhere and tailoring them to local realities to improve lives.
“We hope that by conducting a Quality of Life assessment at the district level,” he added, “We will see improvements in the policies and initiatives that will have a direct bearing on the quality of life of citizens.”
Nearly 58 per cent of Ghanaians now live in cities, and the country’s urbanisation rate outpaces the continental average. Turning this rapid growth into better living conditions for all remains a key development priority.
Quality of Life Initiative
The Quality of Life (QoL) Initiative supports this goal by equipping city leaders with the insights and tools they need to ensure urbanisation benefits every resident. At its core is a data-driven index that combines global SDG benchmarks with local priorities identified by communities, helping municipalities invest in what matters to their residents.
In discussions with NDPC, the delegation explored how the QoL Initiative could be integrated into Ghana’s SDG localisation and Voluntary Local Review (VLR) processes, streamlining efforts and maximizing community-level benefits.
At the Ghana Statistical Service, discussions focused on identifying data strengths and gaps, as well as on aligning QoL indicators with national systems to support more evidence-based urban policy and development.
Beyond GDP
Reflecting on the discussions, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, Government Statistician of Ghana, said: “The main takeaway is that the Quality of Life Initiative speaks directly to going beyond gross domestic product. It points to the importance of social issues, which feed into the economic issues for us to better understand people’s living conditions.”
He requested ECA to continue promoting the role of statistics in policymaking and co-develop a QoL framework that reflects both global aspirations and local needs.
“We’re inspired by Ghana’s commitment to people-first development,” said Mr. Giuseppe Tesoriere, ECA’s focal point for the QoL Initiative.
“The QoL Initiative has great potential to support that vision by turning data into decisions that truly improve people’s lives. We look forward to working closely with our Ghanaian partners to take this forward.”
The UN Country Team also met with the delegation to explore how various UN agencies in Ghana could contribute to the QoL Initiative through their specialised expertise and ongoing activities.
Accra is one of four cities participating in ECA’s scoping missions to learn about key aspects of urban life, such as access to services, housing, inclusion, and opportunity, and explore policy proposals for improvement.
