Arts & Humanities Journal|IJAH

Title: ASSESSING THE ROLE OF CREDIT UNIONS IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA
Authors: Alhassan John Issah
Volume:3 Issue: 9
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Alhassan John Issah Languages and Liberal Studies, Tamale Technical University
MLA 8 Issah, Alhassan John. "ASSESSING THE ROLE OF CREDIT UNIONS IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA." Int. J. Arts&Humanities, vol. 3, no. 9, Sep. 2019, pp. 335-349, journal-ijah.org/more2019.php?id=25. Accessed Aug. 2019. APA Issah, A. (2019, August). ASSESSING THE ROLE OF CREDIT UNIONS IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA. Int. J. Arts&Humanities, 3(9), 335-349. Retrieved from journal-ijah.org/more2019.php?id=25 Chicago Issah, Alhassan John. "ASSESSING THE ROLE OF CREDIT UNIONS IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA." Int. J. Arts&Humanities 3, no. 9 (September 2019), 335-349. Accessed August, 2019. journal-ijah.org/more2019.php?id=25.
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Keywords: Savings, Poverty, Alleviation, Cooperatives
Abstract: Poverty is endemic in the Northern Region of Ghana, especially among the rural folks, with its resultant adversities. Majority of the poor are farmers who lack food security, financing, processing, marketing and storage of their farm produce. For this reason, Credit Unions (CUs) in Ghana especially those in the study areas, pool their resources together in the form of savings so as to provide the needed goods and services. In this study, the significance of credit unions in alleviating poverty in the study areas in particular and Ghana as a whole is objectively assessed with the single objective of improving on the gains that the CUs have made. The research instruments adopted for the study included face- to- face structured interviews and administration of questionnaires as well as secondary data. The population of the study comprised credit unions in the Northern Region of Ghana but five (5) credit unions were selected randomly to form the study sample. The study opines that through savings mobilization and loans, the Credit Unions (CUs) have transformed lives of members tremendously. It revealed that cooperative enterprises provide the means whereby a significant proportion of humanity is able to take into its own hands the tasks of creating productive employment, overcoming poverty and achieving social integration.
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