The Executive Director of the National Population Council, Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah says there is the need to prioritize rights and choices in addressing the contributors to Africa and Ghana’s high population growth rate.
These contributors, she notes, include the unmet need for family planning with its associated high social, environmental, and economic costs, child marriage, and teen pregnancy.
Dr. Adelaide Appiah explains that as the world advances towards a population of 8 billion, Africa however, has a fertility rate that is high above replacement level and is a cause for high population growth.
“Europe’s population decreased by over a million people, Africa’s increased over 35 million in 2021 alone with Ghana contributing over 700,000,” she intimated.
This, she said poses a challenge to the economic growth of the country.
Dr. Appiah, speaking at the launch of a weeklong celebration to observe the 2022 World Population Day with a focus on Africa and Ghana’s contribution to population growth indicated fertility rates above replacement level in Africa and Ghana drive fast population growth on the continent thus contributing to a large proportion of younger people and fewer skilled workforce posing challenges with provision of quality health care, relevant education, employment as well as sustainable economic growth.
To this end, she stated that prioritizing sexual and reproductive rights and choices of women in Ghana and Africa by decisively tackling child marriage, teen pregnancies and unmet need for family planning will improve maternal and child health and well-being at reduced health, social, environmental and economic costs.
“This will significantly reduce the unsustainable level of population growth rate in Africa and Ghana. It will help produce fewer healthier young people and increase the proportion of skilled workforce leading to accelerated socio-economic development.”
“For sustainable socio-economic development of Ghana and Africa, sexual and reproductive health policy should and must be seen and treated as an economic policy and a security policy. Teen pregnancy and unmet need for family planning should attract attention and commitment from all stakeholders especially the media, the economists, the traditional, religious and political leadership,” she said.
July 11 was set aside for the celebration of the annual World Population Day (WPD) in 1989 by the Governing Council of the United Nations in all countries. The celebration calls for critical analysis of relevant population and related issues that support or hinder accelerated socio-economic development for national attention and action.
The global theme for this year’s celebration is A world of 8 billion: towards a resilient future for all, harnessing opportunities, and ensuring rights and choices.
The theme for the celebration in Ghana this year is ‘Prioritizing rights and choices; harnessing opportunities, the road to a resilient future for all.’
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Source: Flora Tang/ATLFMNEWS
