ER Minister advises the youth to lead healthy lifestyles

Mr. Victor Smith, Eastern Regional Minister, has advised the youth to refrain from all forms of social vices that could impact negatively on their health.

He said one of the main prerequisites in achieving sustainable youth empowerment was good-health adding “it is on this note that government has put in place many interventions to provide for the quality health needs of the people including the youth”.

Mr. Smith said this in a speech read on his behalf at the opening of a day’s youth forum on the National Youth Policy (NYP) in Koforidua for Eastern and Volta Regions.

The policy fair was under the theme: “Reviewing youth development work in Ghana: the way forward in evolving strategic youth empowerment plans based on the National Youth Policy”.

Mr. Smith observed that the theme for the fair was laudable since it sought to explore strategies for the solutions of all problems confronting the youth.

“It is therefore heart warming to note that one of the guiding principles of the NYP is to ensure the sustainable empowerment of the Ghanaian youth”, he added.

Mr. Smith said the youth empowerment program was a process which involved all that was required to be done for the youth to help them confront the challenges of their time without much interference from adults so that in the long run, they could take responsibility for any result which would help them fit well in society.

He said it was for that reason that government has put in place many interventions such as the LESDEP, YESDEP and the Road Maintenance modules to provide employment for the youth.

Mr. Smith said more nursing and teacher training colleges had also been established throughout the country to provide the youth with profession.

He appealed to the youth to live good lives which would not leave them in any health problems so that whatever the empowerment packages of the NYP had for them will succeed.

Mrs Sedinam Tamaklo Ateonu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Authority (NYA), said the youth constituted about 33 percent of the national population according to the Ghana Statistical service and that it was for this reason that government was concerned about youth development in the country, hence the launch of the NYP on August 12, this year under the “Better Ghana Agenda”.

Mrs Ateonu said the policy was launched to “breathe life” into the youth in the country by empowering them to be responsible citizens.

She reiterated government’s commitment to the implementation of the policy to enable them contribute meaningfully towards the development of the country.

Dr Omane Boamah, Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, said under the government’s “Better Ghana Agenda”, youth in all the regions in the country were cultivating rice, maize and soya which were contributing to the development of the country.

He said about 7,000 youth were also under oil and gas training outside the country, aimed to empower them to face any challenges.

Dr Boamah advised the youth not to allow any politician to deceive them into doing anything that was against the laws of the country during the coming elections.**