SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT difficult macroeconomic environment, Ghana has been able to invest increasing amounts in HIV prevention and control, although there are concerns about the sustainability of commitment and resources. 15. The general picture emerging indicates that a combination of good socioeconomic policies and considerable foreign aid has led to perceptible progress in Ghana's socioeconomic development in recent years. The country is, however, off-target in the attainment of a considerable number of the goals set out in the GPRS and in the MDGS. Perceptible progress on the socio-economic front is distorted by: ? ? ? ? Impediments to gender mainstreaming as a result of cultural and other factors; Weak human, financial and physical resource capacity; Wide urban/rural and regional disparities in the distribution of dividends of socio-economic development in the country, with the three northern regions and some parts of coastal Ghana lagging far behind the rest of the country (e.g. in poverty eradication, provision of basic services, and core welfare indicators, like water, electricity, health care, roads, nutrition and education); and A weak, demobilised, unresponsive and ineffective fiscal and political decentralisation process, thereby hindering participation, accountability and transparency in social service delivery at the lower levels of government. 16. The country's socio-economic development has also suffered from the negative impact of macroeconomic distortions, such as the economy's susceptibility to external shocks as a result of fluctuations in world primary commodity prices, exchange rate instability, inflation and high donor dependence. As the CSAR points out, and the various consultations undertaken by the CRM have made all too clear, socio-economic development in Ghana has been less than is required for sustainable development. There is ample scope for improvement in the quality and standard of living of Ghanaians, measured in terms of the opportunities and options available to them to secure and sustain their individual and collective self-development, if the MDGs and the national development objective of US$ 1000 per capita income by 2010 are to be achieved. 17. Against this background, this chapter reviews the policies and practices of Ghana in conforming to the agreed governance values, codes and standards of the socioeconomic development objectives of the NEPAD Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance, as well as outstanding challenges. It reviews the contents of the CSAR and background papers in this thematic area, as well as the 119