Ghanaian essayist Kwabena Bomfeh Jnr. has written a timely essay titled "Hunger, Poverty, Appetite and the Recurrent Self-Destruct Tendencies in Ghana: Toward Freedom and Justice for All in Equitable Development." The essay comes at a critical moment when Ghana Statistical Service data for Q3 2025 reveals that 12.5 million Ghanaians, or 38.1% of the population, are food insecure. Bomfeh's work diagnoses the problems and names them in a language that Ghanaians can relate to, offering honesty in operations.
Bomfeh's core argument is both elegant and chilling. He posits that the two human problems of Ghana, poverty and hunger, are not beyond control. Poverty is a lack of means, knowledge, and capability, while hunger is the desire for food that becomes a more dangerous condition called appetite when not satisfied. Appetite is "hunger magnified by memory of poverty," leading to a desperate desire for satisfaction at all costs, even if others go without. This untamed appetite justifies the unbridled acquisition of power and wealth and dominance.
Bomfeh's essay is a direct commentary on the promise of Agenda 2030, specifically the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on poverty and hunger. SDG 1 aims to end poverty in all its forms, and Bomfeh adds texture to this goal by stressing that poverty is not just about income but also about the lack of means and brain. His data points to the importance of education, with 50% of household heads without formal education being food insecure compared to 15% with tertiary education.
The essay also relates to the concept of human security, which rests on two pillars: freedom from fear and freedom from want. Bomfeh's work highlights the plight of the 12.5 million food-insecure citizens who do not enjoy freedom from want. He argues that appetite is the killer of freedom from fear, as unbridled appetite for power breeds fear, which in turn reproduces want. His call for freedom and justice as a compass is a call for human security in its deepest sense.
Bomfeh's work has implications for the 1994 UNDP Human Development Report on Human Security. The report proposed seven components of economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political security. Bomfeh's essay validates the report's warnings, highlighting the triple burden cohort of food insecurity, multidimensional poverty, and joblessness. His solutions of economic freedom, distributive justice, and institutionalized conscience align with the report's emphasis on early prevention through equitable development.
Amartya Sen's book "Development as Freedom" sheds light on Bomfeh's essay. Sen argues that development is not about growing GDP but expanding substantive freedoms and capabilities to lead lives people have reason to value. Bomfeh operationalizes Sen's concepts in Ghanaian terms, highlighting capability deprivation as poverty and hunger as anxiety about the next meal. His work emphasizes the dangers of dominance based on appetite and the need for equitable development.
Bomfeh's essay concludes that provision can meet poverty, hunger can be satisfied with food, and appetite can be satisfied by principle alone. His powerful moral illustration emphasizes that even among thieves, there is honor, but Ghana has broken this base code of survival. His call for freedom and justice is a call for human security, and his solutions offer a way forward for Ghana to address its recurrent self-destruction tendencies.
Key points
- Bomfeh's essay highlights the need for equitable development and moral foundations in Ghana.
- The essay emphasizes the importance of education in reducing food insecurity and poverty.
- Bomfeh's work relates to the Sustainable Development Goals and the concept of human security.
