The United Nations Population Fund in collaboration with Media and Communication Advocacy Network (MCAN) has organised a one day media workshop to brief media persons on Ghana’s ICPD + 25 commitments and Nairobi summit 2019, the Status of Adolescent Girl Programme implementation and Population and Housing Census as well as equipping them on how to go about their reportage on these issues.
The workshop which was held on Monday, 14th December, 2020 at the Crystal Palm hotel gave highlights on the adoption of Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development (AADPD) and ways media persons through their reportage will ensure that the goals of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in line with three transformational goals is met by 2030.
According to Consultant at UNFPA Afua Turkson, Ghana has adopted ten goals and five yearly targets to track and make sure that the agenda to achieve the three key transformational goals of the International Conference on Population and Development is met by 2030.
” The Summit seeks to accelerate efforts to achieve the goals of the 1994 ICPD and
endorsement of a set of voluntary global commitments centered on the Three Transformational Goals:
Zero unmet need for family planning
Zero preventable maternal deaths
Zero gender-based violence and harmful practices against women, girls and the youth to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030″.
She added that the 3 days summit organised from 12th to 14th November, 2019 in Nairobi was to mobilise action to fast track progress on the Programme of Action and the SDGs.
Madam Afua Turkson further stated data should be made available to the media to aid them in reporting on issues regarding ICPD +25 in order not to raise doubts and also help in the evaluation of the ICPD +25 commitments “Ensuring annual monitoring of progress and 4-yearly evaluation of the implementation of programmes”.
The UNFPA Program Coordinator, Esi Awotwe in a presentation on the status of the Adolescent Girl Programme (AGP) highligted that in a period of 2018 to 2020 and 2021 to 2022 will focus on empowering adolescent girls through improved access to Reproductive Health Education and Rights based on quality Sexual Reproductive Health Services in Ghana.
She noted that their main goal is to provide, empower and give access to gender responsive reproductive health education and youth friendly sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning and contraception to adolescent girls and the most vulnerable.
“To ensure that these goals are met, our focus is on two main targets groups which is the primary centered around adolescent girls aged between 10 to 19 years which captures in and out if school adolescent girls, adolescent mothers, kayayei, adolescents with disabilities, pregnant teens, refugees, street girls and the secondary group which captures adolescent girls aged between 20 to 24 years, adolescent boys, parents traditional leaders, FBO leaders and CSOs” she added.
Mr. Eric Okrah, National Programme Analyst, Monitoring and Evaluation at UNFPA, speaking on the up coming 2021 population and housing census said, “census is a process and not an event. So is a process of the planning, collecting the data, analyzing the data, publishing the data, and more importantly, disseminating that data.”
According to him Ghana’s first census was in 1890 with a population of 6 million and since then censuses have been happening every 10 years.
He disclosed that census was disrupted by the second world war, then in 1958, the United Nations decided to have modern censuses, dubbed UN principles and guidelines on modern censuses.
“These guidelines are principles every country expects to follow. So, in 1960, Ghana conducted its first modern census, then in 1970, 1984, 2000, and 2010. According to him 2021 PHC will be Ghana’s sixth post-independence census and the third PHC.”
Mr Okrah added that though censuses are expensive it’s an important activity for better socio-economic management and distribution of resources of every country.
He further stated that the 2021 Population and Housing Census is set to take place in April and May and it will be the first digital census in Ghana. “It going to involve the use of CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing)” which involves the use of devices like tablets, to electronically capture data and Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS) for recording coordinates of structures.
Mr. Eric Okrah, noted that using tablets in collection of data and continously syncing is an efficient data collection strategy that reduces time spent in processing data as well as aiding in accurate and quality data monitoring, where GPS records will ensure the complete coverage of every household, locality and structure.
The one day media orientation had 20 MCAN members and resource persons from UNFPA. Madam Afua Turkson urged members of MCAN present in reporting issues regarding population and development must establish the inter linkages and interrelations between the two to know the impact of population, socio-economic development and the resources available.
By: Josephine Aku Selorm Gator
paulajones129@gmail.com
