The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) plans to shift its focus toward measuring actual improvements in living conditions rather than just numerical rankings.
The Chairman of the NDPC, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson said this at the launch of the 2023 District League Table on February 13, 2025 in Accra
"While rankings and indices are useful, the real question is how these translate into improving living conditions of the people. Development must have a human face," he added.
The Chairman noted that despite district rankings on metrics like sanitation, visible problems persist in major cities. "It's hard to walk around Accra and have a sense that nobody pays attention to sanitation at all," he added.
He expressed concern about declining enrollment rates in kindergarten and primary schools, as revealed in NDPC's latest annual progress report. 
"Enrollment may go up, but are people really learning?" he queried.
Looking ahead, the NDPC will strengthen its research function alongside its planning and monitoring roles. 
"We are going to pay a great deal of attention to policy research, including experimental research which we would like to share with relevant MDAs and government," he explained.
The Chairman revealed that NDPC now leads the District League Table process, which previously was headed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 
He added that the Commission would work with UNICEF and other partners to develop metrics that better reflect real living conditions.
"Ghanaians are tired of just hearing cold numbers. GDP, the fastest growing economy in Africa, and then you go there and there's nothing happening. We want that human element," he noted.
The District League Table ranks all 261 districts in Ghana based on various development indicators.
UNICEF Chief of Social Policy and Inclusion, Dr Pauliina Sarvilahti, called for urgent action to address the disparities revealed in the rankings.
"The continued widespread disparities among the districts as evidenced from the 2023 DLT Report should be of concern to all of us who desire to see development reach everyone equitably, regardless of their district of residence," she said. She called for the District League Table to guide budget decisions, saying "I wish to make a humble appeal to the National Development Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance to seriously consider including in the Budget Guidelines, reference to the District League Table."
"We are barely five years away from the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and therefore, we should all work diligently and explore all possible avenues to ensure that the low-ranking districts and their populations, especially children, are not left behind," she concluded.
Sunyani Municipality has emerged as Ghana's best-performing district with 94.2 percent in the 2023 District League Table (DLT) whilst the Greater Accra Region maintained its lead as the top-performing region, improving from 66.7 per cent in 2022 to 81.2 percent in 2023.