Census data will save lives & livelihoods – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has underscored the relevance of the upcoming 2021 Population and Housing Census which is slated to take place in June this year.

He said the exercise is so crucial that all stakeholders must endeavour to take it seriously.

Speaking at an event in Accra to launch a 30-day countdown to Census Night, the president said the census is a life changer.

“Census data will save lives and livelihoods. With that in mind, I want to encourage you to do the right thing and support publicity, education and advocacy activities by conveying only reliable information and facilitating constructive discussions on issues around the Census process”, he said.

Akufo-Addo made a plea to the public and the media to be circumspect in the roles they play to make the exercise a success.

“I would also like to make a special plea to the media, including the social media users. This is not the time to create controversy and confusion around this important national development activity”.

Ghana’s 2021 Population and Housing Census, the first fully digitized census in the country will consist of a population census and a housing census as one operation.

The two censuses, though separate, constitute one statistical operation and they are not completely independent of each other because of the essential elements of each census which are common to both and are also with well-coordinated activities.

The 2021 Population and Housing Census is designed to generate statistics that are essential for policy and planning purposes.