Hon Patricia Appiagyei
Asokwa
I rise to make this commemorative Statement on the occasion of the World Population Day 2025, which is being observed globally under the national theme, “Empowering the Youth to Create Quality Families in an Inclusive Society”.
Mr Speaker, the observance of the World Population Day is a global reminder of the centrality of the population issues to national development. It offers us an opportunity to reflect on how we, as policymakers, implementers, leaders and duty-bearers, are responding to the demographic realities that shape the lives and future of our people, especially the youth.
In Ghana, young people below the age of 35 make up over 60 per cent of our population. This demographic presents both a challenge and a golden opportunity. The challenge lies in ensuring that they are not left behind in education, health, employment, and civic inclusion. The opportunity lies in harnessing their energies, creativity, and potential to build resilient families and a prosperous nation. The theme for this year urges us to recognise that empowering the youth, through access to quality education, reproductive health information and services, employment opportunities, and civic participation, is essential in preparing them to form quality families that are healthy, economically stable, and socially inclusive.
Mr Speaker, it is no secret that many of our youth, today, face daunting barriers such as early and unintended pregnancies, child marriages, limited access to family planning, gender-based violence, and economic exclusion which can be found in our various constituencies across the country. These barriers are not only to compromise their individual futures, but also erode the fabric of our society.
Mr Speaker, if we are to reverse these trends, we must commit to implementing youth-focused economic empowerment programmes to enhance their capacity to form and sustain healthy families. We must encourage young people to actively seek knowledge, utilise available services responsibly, engage constructively in civic processes, uphold positive values, and strive for excellence in their chosen fields. We must strengthen reproductive health education to equip our youth with life-saving knowledge, expand access to reproductive health services in youth friendly, safe, and stigma-free environments, provide digital training and infrastructure to enable the youth to participate in the digital economy.
We must also promote gender equality and discourage harmful norms like child marriage that limit the aspirations of girls and young women. We must invest in youth skills development through apprenticeship and internship, create more entry-level job opportunities, and develop financial products tailored to young entrepreneurs and support an increased financial allocation for the National Population Council Secretariat, which is a policy advisor and has been mandated to coordinate all population and related issues in the country.
Mr Speaker, the Parliamentary Caucus on Population and Development reaffirms its commitment to advocating for laws, policies, and budgets that reflect the needs and aspirations of our youth. World Population Day 2025, is a clarion call to invest in our youth, who are not just the future but the present drivers of Ghana’s progress. By addressing these critical issues: education, productive health, gender equality, and digital inclusion, we can empower young Ghanaians to make informed choices, build resilient families, and contribute to a sustainable economy.
We urge our Colleagues in this august House to continue to support initiatives that integrate population variables into development planning at all levels of government. We also salute the efforts of the National Population Council, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, all other stakeholders, and our development partners, especially United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) for their continued investment in youth development and population programmes.
As we commemorate this day, let us remember that the quality of our future depends on the investments we make today in our young people, families, and building an inclusive society for all. On behalf of the Parliamentary Caucus on Population and Development, I respectfully invite this House to join the call to action to empower the youth as drivers of sustainable families and inclusive development. Let us ensure that no youth is left behind and that every young Ghanaian is given all the necessary tools, knowledge, and opportunity to strive and to lead.
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for this opportunity and God bless our youth and God bless Ghana. Thank you.
Hon Abdul Kabiru Tiah Mahama
Walewale
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity. Firstly, I would like to thank the lead Statement made by the Leader, Hon Patricia Appiagyei, Hon Ralph, and Colleagues from the other Side for these commemorative Statements.
Mr Speaker, I want to touch briefly on the cardinal issue of the Statement. The maker of the first Statement drew our attention to the fact that over 60 per cent of our population is over the age of 35.
Mr Speaker, those below the age of 35 present us with two contrasting things, the demographic dividend and the demographic disaster. The demographic dividend is the opportunities that this particular group of people presents for economic development. And the demographic disaster is the converse. That is the lack of action and the threat this population presents to the country.
First, on the demographic dividend, Mr Speaker, a youthful population is a catalyst for economic development. And while we have the population being under the age of 25, we definitely expect that a country so minded will use this population so well to enhance the development. But in our case, we seem to have a huge chunk of the youth being unemployed. And that is a disaster that we have to deal with.
Mr Speaker, we can do something about this situation. We can, as a country, prioritise how we make the youth the centre of our development. Technical education is one. One of the makers of a Statement drew our attention to the fact that while we want our youth to have employable skills, the employability of our youth is very important. And once we prioritise technical education, Mr Speaker, we will be able to do something and turn our demographic disaster into a demographic dividend.
Mr Speaker, another issue that we need to look at is that basic education should have entrepreneurial traits. In other words, we must imbibe at the basic, at the core, entrepreneurial education so that the youth will be able to—
On this note, Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement.
AskParly