The Government of Ghana set up the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), with the responsibility of giving counsel to the executive arm of Government and leading national action on the design and planning of the development policies and strategies.

In 2019, UNFPA supported the Government Ghana to participate in the ICPD+25 Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. The Ghana delegation was led by NDPC, who led the country’s efforts at developing the commitments for the ICPD+25 Summit. In an interaction with the Executive Director of NDPC, Dr. Kojo Mensah-Abrampa, the UNFPA Ghana Rep a.i., Mr. Barnabas Yisa disclosed that the 8^th Country Programme UNFPA has been endorsed by the Government of Ghana and it goes through the process for Executive Board approval in September 2022. Thereafter the new Country Programme will be implemented as from January 2023.

Mr. Yisa noted that, ‘UNFPA is ready to support key planning processes, as well as monitoring and evaluation efforts to bolster programme implementation’. He therefore used the opportunity to make a call on NDPC to continue working in close collaboration with UNFPA for increasing development impact for the people of Ghana.

On his part, Dr. Mensah-Abrampa mentioned that NDPC is currently developing the National Medium -Term Policy Framework which will adequately seek to integrate issues of maternal mortality and fertility rates. He added that, ‘Unmet need for family planning also remains one of the key issues which UNFPA can support us with.’

Additionally, the Director of NDPC alluded to the Youth Development Index and noted the need for Government and development partners like UNFPA to work in close collaboration with his Commission and other relevant national institutions to address youth unemployment. ‘To harness the demographic dividend, I think we must not only look at short-term financing for youth-entrepreneurial initiatives but consider long-term support that integrates the entire value chain of production to absorb and provide sustainable employment for more youth,' he added.

Finally, NDPC and UNFPA decided to work towards developing quality reports and brief updates on the ICPD to track progress on commitments made during the Nairobi Summit.

The UNFPA Ghana Rep a.i. with the NDPC Director-General and some team members.