Ghana asked to pay attention to population dynamics

Mrs Virginia Ofosu-Amaah, a former chairperson of the National Population Council, has called for continuous policy attention on the challenges that population dynamics pose to the continent’s socio-economic development.

She noted that with the challenge of aging populations that would soon confront most sub-Saharan countries, there is still a great need for relevant and timely research of issues on population and development.

Mrs Ofosu-Amaah made the call at the launch of the 40th anniversary celebration of the Regional Institute for Populations Studies (RIPS) of the University of Ghana, Legon in Accra on Wednesday.

Arguing that only Africans can solve the continents problems, she advocated the training of competent professionals and the conduct of high quality research that feeds into policy formulation, decision making and targeted interventions as a way forward for Africa.

RIPS, a research and training institute, is a joint initiative between the United Nations and  Ghana, set up in 1972 to train demographers in Africa and undertake research in population sciences.

Under the theme: “40 years of Training and Research in Population for Sustainable Development,” the anniversary celebration would be marked with a series of activities planned over the next few months.

Mrs Ofosu-Amaah asked RIPS to continue to be in tune with new developments and approaches in order to position themselves to provide leadership in linking research to policy dialogue.

She implored the university to make efforts to engage political leadership in Ghana and Africa on making research findings relevant to policy decision and actions as a means of achieving a higher quality of life for all.

RIPS spearheads a south/south initiative to promote collaboration and networking among African and Asian training and research institutions.

Source: GNA