High Unemployment Rates: A Threat to National Security

The high unemployment rates in Ghana present a myriad of human security challenges that imperil both the social fabric and economic resilience of the nation.

Human security, a comprehensive concept, encapsulates the welfare and safety of individuals across diverse dimensions such as economic, nutritional, health, environmental, personal, communal, and political spheres. Elevated unemployment rates exert multifaceted impacts across these dimensions. This article takes a holistic look at the menace and offers some insight to help mitigate against it.

Economic Vulnerability:

Elevated unemployment precipitates economic vulnerability among a substantial segment of the populace, curtailing their access to fundamental goods and services. Consequently, poverty deepens, exacerbating socio-economic disparities.

Nutritional Insecurity:

Insufficient income levels impede families from procuring nourishing sustenance, fostering malnutrition and related health adversities, particularly impinging on the developmental trajectory of children.

Health Impediment:

Financial constraints hinder access to essential healthcare services, prompting unemployed individuals and their families to forgo critical medical interventions. This predicament is compounded in regions where health coverage hinges on employment or where public health infrastructure is inadequately resourced.

Personal Safety:

Escalating unemployment rates correlate with a surge in criminal activity, as individuals resort to illicit means for financial sustenance, thereby jeopardizing the personal security of the broader populace.

Communal and Social Strain:

Prolonged unemployment fosters social discord and heightens intergroup tensions, corroding social cohesion. Disenfranchisement and resentment may ensue, directed towards governmental entities and societal cohorts perceived as more privileged.

Political Instability:

Widespread unemployment undermines confidence in governance and public institutions, particularly if citizenry perceives their needs and grievances as unaddressed. This disillusionment engenders political volatility, catalyzing protests and, in extreme scenarios, civil unrest.

To counteract these perils, Ghana must embrace a comprehensive strategy encompassing investments in education and skills enhancement, bolstering support for entrepreneurial ventures and small-scale enterprises, diversification of the economic landscape to engender new employment sectors, and formulation of social policies offering safety nets for the unemployed. Furthermore, forging alliances among governmental bodies, private enterprises, and international entities can engender sustainable employment avenues and redress the underlying causes of unemployment.

By Bill Godson Ocloo

The writer is the founder and Executive Director of the African Centre for Human Security and Emergency Management (ACHSEM)