Introduction: Sustainable community development:Examining the Ghanaian situation

This introductory chapter examines the historical and contemporary situation of community development in Ghana both prior and after COVID-19. Areas covered include self-help and self-reliant spirit and other concepts and theories of community development, historical and contemporary perspectives on community development in Ghana and sustainable community development in the post-COVID-19 Ghana. This chapter also touches on Ghana’s progress in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discusses the need for the government of Ghana to invest in sustainable small-scale mining operations and green economy transformation strategies. The chapter further proposes that Ghana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and climate change policies are developed to align with the NDCs to address the UNFCCC Paris Agreement obligations. Sustainable waste management, WASH and sanitation in Ghana are discussed. The chapter suggests that policy makers work to increase access to essential social services including health, education, transport, waste management and safe water in the post-COVID-19 era in vulnerable communities to achieve sustainable community development.