The government is seeking to improve the tracking of the population right from birth to death.
This is to gather concrete and accurate data to aid in effective planning for development.
Government has thus through the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) released 13,000 computer tablets to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to help record demographic data of expectant mothers from antenatal clinics till delivery.
Additionally, the government is making efforts to link the databases of the National Identification Authority, Ghana Health Service, Ghana Statistical Service, and Births and Deaths Registry to ensure data harmonisation.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia announced this at the launch of the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), University of Ghana, on Thursday.
The year-long celebration is on the theme: “50 years of shaping local and global population issues towards sustainable development,” which attracted government officials, academia, and alumni of the Institute.
Dr. Bawumia stressed the need for the country to have accurate data of its population from birth till death for planning and to facilitate policy formulation.
The 2021 Population and Housing Census indicates that Ghana has a 30.8 million population, of which 60 per cent are literate.
The Vice President, therefore, commended the management of the Institute for chalking a milestone over the period, especially for training about 1,500 population scientists to help ensure that the government channelled the critical national resources at the right sectors of the economy.
He urged them to establish meaningful partnerships with international organisations and employ modern technologies towards enhancing their academic programmes.
“I urge you not to be complacent for the 50 years milestone but should spur you on to excel in the next 50 years,” the Vice President said.
Dr. Bawumia believed that having an accurate and healthy population was the bedrock for development globally, which aided state institutions to make informed choices towards improving the quality of life of the citizens.
He thus entreated the Institute to work closely with the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies towards efficient utilisation of resources and development of poor communities, noting that “without timely and accurate population data, planning will be impossible”.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent