Claim: A quote card allegedly created by TV3 claims that “about 8.4 million Ghanaians, or 24.5% of the population, went a day without food.” This they attributed to the Ghana Statistical Service.
Verdict: False. DUBAWA’s research reveals that the content of the information on the quote card purported to be coming from the Ghana Statistical Service does not exist.
Full Text
As Ghana heads towards the 2024 election in December, the economy and the general cost of living are among the key issues determining who will win the election.
The two leading political parties, the governing New Patriotic Party and the major opposition National Democratic Congress, have promised to improve Ghanaians’ standard of living when they are elected in the December election.
However, a viral quote card with the designs and logos of Media General has surfaced on Facebook, particularly in pro-National Democratic Congress (NDC) circles, claiming that “about 8.4 million Ghanaians, or 24.5% of the population, went a day without food” The content was attributed to a supposed 2023 report on food insecurity by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
Given the content of the information and how directly it affects the citizens, DUBAWA decided to investigate it.
Verification
DUBAWA started the investigation by contacting the local media house, Media General, which created this quote card to ascertain the authenticity of the claim.
The media house confirmed that the fact card emanated from them but was quick to add that the content was a quote made by Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader in Ghana’s Parliament.
During a presentation in parliament on Monday, March 11, 2024, by Cassiel Ato Forson (Point 42, page 10) on the True State of the Nation Address, said, “8.4 million Ghanaians, or 24.5% of the population, went a day without food.”
This statistic was reportedly sourced from the Ghana Statistical Service’s (GSS) 2023 food insecurity report. The quote has recently gained traction on social media, with pro-NDC accounts sharing it widely.
DUBAWA further reviewed the official website of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) to locate the cited 2023 report on food insecurity. Despite a search of various reports, the researcher found no document or publication titled “Food Insecurity Report 2023.” Other reports published around that period do not reference the 8.4 million figure or the claim about 24.5% of Ghanaians going without food for a day.
Again, the researcher contacted Paul Seneadza, a GSS public relations staff member, to clarify the existence of such a report. The communications department could not corroborate the claim. According to him, the GSS did not produce such a report, and the statistic mentioned was not part of their documented research.
During a Google Advanced Search for the specific quote, a similar statistic from 2017 emerged. In a report from the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana, it was noted that “8.4 million Ghanaians, at the time, were unable to afford 3 cedis a day.”
While these figures are strikingly similar, they refer to two different contexts, periods with different institutions.
Conclusion
After examining the available evidence, it is clear that the fact card’s content and the Minority Leader’s claim are false. The GSS has not released a “Food Insecurity Report 2023.” The data provided in the viral fact card relates to research done in 2017 by ISSER, not in 2023.