The Chinese Embassy in Ghana has initiated a program aimed at sharing China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation Model, which successfully lifted 800 million Chinese people out of extreme poverty, with the people of Ghana.
This initiative is part of China’s broader strategy to enhance cooperation with African nations, fostering sustainable development and elevating living standards for citizens throughout the continent.
During a conference themed “Piloting China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation Model in West Africa under Chinese Pace to Modernisation,” Mr. LU Kun highlighted that China’s approach to poverty alleviation has garnered significant international recognition and interest.
“China has been sharing experience of poverty alleviation with the world and contributing to global endeavour in this regard,” he said.
He observed that poverty alleviation was a process rather than event that required constant monitoring and re-strategizing when necessary to ensure that standards of living did not drop.
“After eradicating household poverty, China has been conducting follow up and monitoring in areas where people have nearly escaped poverty and has set a grace period during which other support policies would continue,” he said.
President of the Ghana Chinese Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Yang Qun, emphasized that China’s Poverty Alleviation Model is not universally applicable and should be tailored to fit the cultural, institutional, and ideological contexts of individual countries.
Mr. Dan Botwe, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, underscored the significance of decentralization through local government structures in ensuring the effectiveness of poverty alleviation interventions.
“No matter the policy, we can best achieve when we go by what the constitution and other laws have suggested, using the Government architecture and make sure that we pursue decentralisation,” he said.
He called for a retrospection to analyse the approach and impact of non-government organisations (NGOS) and government interventions in alleviating poverty in the country.
“What is poverty and when we say we have eradicated poverty, what do we mean and what is the manifestation?” he queried.
Professor Zhang Yongpeng of the China-Africa Institute explained that China’s poverty alleviation model relies on precision in identifying vulnerable households to guide the design of accurate interventions and the management of procedures.
He emphasized that this model works more effectively when national resources for poverty alleviation are concentrated and targeted appropriately.
Professor Alexander Bilson Darku, a Senior Scholar at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Ghana, suggested that Ghana could set an example for other West African countries if it addressed challenges related to effective targeting and innovative funding.
He also pointed out the significant disparities in access to poverty programs between the northern and southern regions of the country, calling for attention to this issue.
The conference, jointly organized by IEA Ghana and the Chinese Embassy, saw the participation of notable figures such as Justice Emile Short, former Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), former Chief Justice Sophia A.B. Akuffo, and former Speaker of Parliament Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, among others.