Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah
Population growth experts have raised concerns over the astronomical growth in the country’s population.
They indicated that Ghana’s population, which currently stands at 28.21 million, is growing at a fast rate, which is not commensurate with the economic development.
The National Population Council therefore proposed a government policy, which should include a limit to the number of children born to any couple or incentives for couples who use contraceptives.
The Executive Director of the National Population Council, Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah, who made the call for the proposed policy, said that childbirth should be restricted to just three to ensure quality in human resource of the country.
“The way forward is to have a population policy implemented, the growth rate should be reduced and we have to talk about the quality of life,” she said.
According to Dr Appiah, Ghana has in the last 30 years maintained an astronomical growth rate of 2.5, comparative to the global average of 1.5.
She said the development has negatively affected the country’s economy and development.
Dr Appiah noted that if the situation persists without the appropriate policy to address it, the quality of life in the country would experience a sharp decline, leaving very few people with the needed technical knowhow to address various challenges in the country.
Family Planning Incentives
Dr Appiah said government can use incentives to encourage Ghanaians to use family planning methods to control the country’s fast-growing population.
According to her, the population growth rate, if not checked, would reduce the quality of human resource in the country and stagnate economic development.
Dr. Appiah said despite the importance of population growth, it must be regulated to correspond with economic development.
“Population growth is good, but it should be regulated so that it does not outstrip economic development,” she said.
“If the couple wants a child, you cannot deprive them…Our problem is population growth, why don’t we incentivize family planning uptake?” she quizzed.
She called on the government to make family planning services more accessible to encourage its patronage.
Dr. Appiah noted that government should consider placing a limit on the number of children per family to benefit from some of its social intervention programmes to encourage family planning.
Teenage Sex education
Dr Appiah also called for intensified sex education for teenagers to protect them against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
Dr Appiah indicated that it was critical for the government to make huge investment by ensuring that the sexual reproductive needs of adolescent boys and girls were met.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri