12m youth key to Ghana’s development — NPC
The government and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have called for increased investment in the country’s estimated 12 million young people, describing it as critical to accelerating national development and harnessing Ghana’s demographic dividend.
The call was made at the launch of Ghana’s commemoration of World Population Day 2026 in Accra yesterday.
At the event, the government, through the National Population Council (NPC), and UNFPA urged stakeholders to prioritise education, healthcare, skills development, employment and entrepreneurship for the youth.
Addressing the gathering, the Acting Executive Director of the NPC, Ms Angelina Osei Kodua-Nyanor, said young people must be seen as the country’s greatest asset rather than a burden.
“Ghana’s 12 million young people are not a challenge to be managed. They are the country’s single greatest asset,” she said.
She stressed that sustained investment in quality education, healthcare, skills training, employment, entrepreneurship, and sexual and reproductive health would equip young people with the tools needed to contribute meaningfully to national development.
Ms Kodua-Nyanor added that the Council would continue to work with partners to ensure that reliable population data informed evidence-based policies and programmes aimed at improving opportunities for young people nationwide.
Speaking on behalf of UNFPA, the Country Representative, Mr David Wilfred Ochan, commended the Government for placing population dynamics at the centre of national development through the leadership of the NPC.
He reaffirmed UNFPA’s commitment to supporting policies that placed people at the heart of development while strengthening population data systems.
Mr Ochan said World Population Day offered an opportunity to reflect on the link between population dynamics and sustainable development, stressing that investment in people remained key to building resilient and prosperous societies.
He noted that UNFPA’s mandate was to ensure that every pregnancy was wanted, every childbirth was safe, and every young person’s potential was fulfilled through improved reproductive health services and evidence-based policies.
According to him, this year’s national theme, “Investing in Ghana’s Future through Healthy, Skilled and Empowered Young People,” underscored the need to treat spending on young people as a strategic investment rather than a social obligation.
“The decisions we make today in education, healthcare, skills development and employment will shape the country’s development trajectory for decades to come,” he said.
Mr Ochan added that the commemoration would strengthen collaboration among government institutions, development partners, civil society organisations, the private sector and communities to unlock the potential of Ghana’s youthful population.
Data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census show that about 12 million Ghanaians, representing 38.2 per cent of the population, are between the ages of 15 and 35.
Mr Ochan, however, called for coordinated national action to expand access to quality education, improve healthcare, strengthen digital inclusion and promote gender equality to help Ghana achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
BY RAYMOND APPIAH-AMPONSAH & RASHEEDA AFOAKUAH
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