In line with this year’s theme for the celebration of the 2023 World Population Day, “Unleashing the power of gender equality to spur national development”, the Executive Director of the National Population Council, Dr. Leticia Adelaiade Appiah called for a renewed focus on the empowerment of women and girls to achieve gender equality as a catalyst to accelerate national development.

She made these remarks at a ceremony which brought together functionaries in Government, academia, the international development community, religious leaders, traditional authority, the media and the general public to pay attention to the needs of women and girls in relation to the current state of the country’s population.

Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah, making remarks at the 2023 World Population Day celebration.

In her address, Dr. Appiah indicated that the celebration of ‘World Population Day serves as a reminder of the significance of population variables in the socio-economic development of nations.’ Adding that, ‘Gender equality and reproductive health information and services are essential prerequisites for unlocking individual and communal potential and driving national socio-economic development.’

This was corroborated by statements from Hon. Freda Prempeh, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tano North constituency in the Ahafo Region and member of the Population & Development caucus within Ghana’s parliament. She called on guests and participants at the event ‘to see women as development partners and not mere players in society’, adding that, ‘society was going to face numerous challenges were women to withdraw their services from the various areas of socio-economic importance.’

There was also a panel discussion which featured the Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana, Ms. Abena Adubea Amoah, Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah, Executive Director of the NPC, Dr. Aaron Kobina Christian of the Regional Institute for Population Studies and Ms. Nina Esedi Okoroafor, a youth representative.

This year, UNFPA used the opportunity of the World Population Day to highlight the need to advance gender equality to help realize the dreams of the over eight billion people across the world, especially women and girls so that they could exercise their rights and make meaningful choices.