An analysis of policies on poverty and urban security in rural-urban integration: An approach for Turkey and Ghana

Poverty remains one of the most pressing global development problems of the 21st century; which has attracted significant attention in both policy and academic circles across the globe. In spite of this, it largely threatens as an obstinate challenge that will continue to top global policy agendas for several decades to come as it has become intertwined with human security concerns and more importantly as a yardstick for measuring the progress and development of developing countries. Although ambitious and serious efforts are taken to halt and eradicate poverty and its associated concerns, it appears the world and specifically nations, are losing the war on poverty. Thus to keep the fight against poverty alive, it is imperative to unceasingly shine lights on it. Within this context, this research analyzes poverty and urban security relationships within an integrated rural-urban framework focusing on the approaches adopted by Turkey and Ghana. Using a combination of primary (gathered through interviews) and secondary data the research found that both Turkey and Ghana have achieved significant successes in the combat of poverty. They have obtained this success chiefly through sustained and prolonged economic growth experienced by the two countries. However, direct policies targeted at poverty have done little to uproot the menace. The direct interventions are recognized only as good as providing palliative solutions. In both countries it has been realized there appears to be a mismatch between the national statistical data and the lived experiences of the people. The study, also, has intimated that the widespread poverty in Turkey and Ghana is as a result of the adoption and implementation of neoliberal socio-economic policies. In a broad perspective, both countries relied on neoliberal approaches to combat poverty. And typically of the neoliberal systems, in spite of impressive gains in poverty eradication, inequality gap has widened; insecurity and vulnerability are on the rise. In this, the worst affected are urban denizens. Urban security levels are fast eroding and the urban is virtual losing its sheen, as living in the city is becoming cumbersome even though this generation is the era of the city. The study reiterates that poverty is still a rural phenomenon in Turkey and Ghana in terms of severity. Yet, in absolute numbers it has become an urban phenomenon especially in Turkey as urbanization is about eighty percent in Turkey. This research argues further that both countries have to intensify efforts against poverty for it is crystal clear from the analysis that the poverty problem is underrated. The current efforts at combating the problem are far lesser than the problem and therefore significantly fall short of addressing the problem comprehensively. The sheer dependence on economic growth and mere implementation of paltry poverty eradication policies (which are geared more towards mitigating rather eradication) are woefully inadequate. The study suggested both countries to complement current approaches employed in fighting poverty with interventionist approaches that focus on human security.