This year’s World Population Day has been commemorated in Accra with a call on duty-bearers and stakeholders to invest more in the training of employable skills to unlock the potential of the youth to contribute meaningfully to the country's development.

The acting Executive Director of the National Population Council (NPC), Florence Hagan, who made the call at a forum, said efforts must also be made to tackle some key challenges facing the youth in the country.

She mentioned disparities in access to education due to inadequate infrastructure, lack of access to reproductive health services, including HIV-AIDS prevention, mental health support and youth unemployment leading to frustrations as some of the challenges.

Others are the mismatch between skills development and limited access to internet and digital literacy skills.

Event

The day is observed annually to raise awareness, encourage action and highlight issues, while urging people to opt for sustainable choices. The event, was on the theme: “The power of 12 million: Youth as key drivers towards resilient and equitable future for Ghana," while the global theme was: “Embracing the power of inclusive data towards a resilient and equitable future for all.”

It was jointly organised by the NPC Secretariat, the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), University of Ghana, Legon, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),
In attendance were members of the general public, including academia, civil society organisations, student leaders, youth advocates and parliamentarians, among other guests.
 

Growing youth population 

Mrs Hagan further said that “the demographics of the country clearly indicate the growing size of the youth population, which represents not just the present, but the future drivers of change, innovation and progress for our country”.

She said the nation's youth population of 12 million constituted 38.2 per cent of the 30.8 million people in the country, according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census. “This is a formidable component of our country's population which calls for the urgent need to put in place programmes and interventions to harness their full potential to propel the country towards rapid economic growth and development,” the acting executive director said.

She further said that by 2050, the proportion of children under 15 years would decline to 29.1 per cent, while the proportion of the aged population of 60 years and above was expected to increase from 6.5 per cent in 2021 to 10.8 per cent by 2050.

Mrs Hagan, however, said in the world where nearly half of the global population was under 35 years old, the youth represented a significant demographic future.

Projections

The Director of RIPS, Prof. Bawah Ayaga, said the world's population was likely to peak within the century from the 2.4 billion recorded in 1950, and 8.2 billion in 2024, to 10.3 billion between 2080 and 2100.

And according to the 2023 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey, an estimated 1.9 million youth in the country were not educated or employed or in any form of training, while another 3.1 million were in vulnerable employment — casual or on contract basis.

The Country Representative of UNFPA, Dr Wilfred Ochan, also entreated the government to invest in youth leadership skills training.

During a panel discussion, two young ladies who are youth advocates, Dzigbordi Akosua Agbenyo and Esenam Amuzu, called for inclusive policies and structures to help unearth the full potential of the youth.