Population Policy to be revised

The National Population Policy is to be revised next year to reflect current data on population resources and to meet the challenges facing the country. Western Regional Population Officer, Mr. Benjamin Whyte, announced this at a one-day sensitisation workshop on the national population policy for the media at Sekondi.

He said the policy was last revised in 1994 and the forthcoming revision is to enable the government to accelerate the pace of economic modernization and improve the quality of life of Ghanaians. Mr. Whyte expressed regret that the country's population growth rate is still 2.7 per cent, 25 years after the formulation of the policy.

He said the high growth rate negates the country's effort at economic modernization, sustainable development, eradication of poverty and the realisation of government's vision of ensuring quality life for Ghanaians.

Mr. Whyte said the new challenges in the area of population include HIV/AIDS pandemic, stigmatisation and discrimination, street children, orphaned children due to HIV/AIDS, refugees and influx of migrants.

Mr. John Hackman, Regional Coordinator of the Ghana National Commission on Children (GNCC), said the 1994 National Population Policy had not been widely disseminated to the public. The workshop was therefore to enable the media to disseminate parts of the policy to the public.