By Gloria Edinam Atiase
A Population Policy Analyst and Political Demographer, Dr. Godfred Bonnah Nkansah, has urged the government to prioritise population issues in its “Resetting Ghana” agenda by investing in family planning and making it more accessible to girls and women across the country.
He indicated that this would help address Ghana’s high dependency ratio and promote socio-economic development.
Dr. Nkansah made these remarks in an interview with the media after a consultation workshop on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital.
According to him, Ghana has introduced several policies and programs designed to enhance SRHR, such as the Adolescent Health Service Policy and Strategy (2016-2020), the National Population Policy (revised in 2017), and the Family Planning Costed Implementation Plan (2016-2020 and 2024-2030).
Although these initiatives have played a role in raising awareness about family planning, reducing maternal mortality, and improving access to reproductive health, significant gaps persist—particularly in adolescent sexual and reproductive health, access to modern contraception, and the availability of comprehensive reproductive health education for young people.
Dr. Nkansah stated that Ghana’s reproductive health and demographic outcomes lag behind those of comparable countries such as Bangladesh, Morocco, and Egypt.
Despite sharing similar socio-economic characteristics with Ghana—such as Lower Middle-Income economic status, Medium Human Development Index scores, and Gross National Income per capita—these countries have made significant progress in fertility reduction, contraceptive adoption, and adolescent reproductive health.
He emphasised that Ghana has overlooked the role of population dynamics in development and called on the government to take a critical look at these issues and invest appropriately to enhance economic growth.
The National Youth Project Officer at MSI Reproductive Choices Ghana, Madam Henrietta Ataah Kaakyire, urged the government to review and pass the Reproductive Health Manual draft, which was submitted to the Ministry of Education under the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration.
The workshop aimed to discuss challenges impeding the full realization of SRHR and to make recommendations for shaping policy.
It was organised by the Parliamentary Network Africa (PN Africa), with support from MSI Reproductive Choices Ghana, under the theme “Empowering Champions for Reproductive Health through Education and Supportive Environments.”
PN Africa is a civil society parliamentary mentoring organization that promotes open parliament across Africa.
