This year, UNFPA Ghana commemorated World Population Day (WPD) in a month-long celebration. The uniqueness of this year’s celebration coincided with the 30th anniversary celebration of the International Conference on Population (ICPD) and the National Population Council (NPC) in Ghana.The global theme for this year’s World Population Day celebration was, “Embracing the power of inclusive data towards a resilient and equitable future for all”. In reference to the global theme, the national theme reflected Ghana’s 38.2% youthful population which translates to 12 million youth.

UNFPA Ghana and NPC, joined the global community in celebrating the vast potential of population growth, while taking strategic steps to harness its benefits. The nationally adopted theme was, 'The Power of 12 million: youth as key drivers towards a resilient future for Ghana’.

The goal for the celebration focused on:
1. Enhancing the youth’s perspectives on national and global population issues.

2. Highlighting the critical role of Ghana’s youth in national development.

3. Advocating for meaningful youth engagement and participation in policy formulation and implementation.

A number of activities were organised, which saw to the success of the celebration. 

Launch of World Population Day

UNFPA Ghana in partnership with NPC and in collaboration with the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), University of Ghana, organised the launch of World Population Day at the GNAT Hall, Accra. The event brought together government agencies, academia, development partners, CSO’s, NGOs, students, researchers and the media. Key messages were shared with the chairperson of NPC, the country rep of UNFPA Ghana and representatives from the Ghana Statistical Service, RIPS and other stakeholders. RIPS leveraged on the occasion to launch the World Population Prospects Database, a global demographic information database for policy formulation and research. This sparked media engagement and conversation on the results, their implications and policy briefs at the national level. There was also a panel discussion with reps from CSOs, NGOs, government agencies and youth groups, who shared their various contributions of how they are involving the youth in their various spheres, thereby contributing to Ghana’s development. The last activity for the day was an open forum which gave the youth the platform to openly and honestly share their perspectives or concerns on issues either of interest to them or bothering them.

Meet the Press

YoLe Fellows and some youth groups were engaged on the State of World Population (SWOP) Report, to provide their perspectives on the report while sharing their experiences across industries, learning from best practices and providing the space that sparks innovations to leverage the power of data and the youth bulge in Ghana. The youth took centre stage with the press and engaged them on issues that affect youth in Ghana and the urgent need for their inclusion in decision-making processes and structures to ensure a resilient and sustainable future. Twenty  two Ghanaian media houses participated in this activity. There was also coverage and publication by nine media houses, who contributed to the spread of the messages on World Population Day.

Social Media Campaign: 12 messages for 12 million Ghanaian Youth

For twelve days, UNFPA championed a social media campaign where some youth shared impactful messages, amplifying their perspectives, interests and cross-cutting concerns affecting young people and providing a platform for their voices to be heard. This activity sparked reactions from users in sharing comments, sharing posts within their networks and being involved in sharing the messages.

Market Outreach

UNFPA in collaboration with NPC, organised a market outreach at the Makola market in Accra. A number of youth engaged in this activity in a float, while interacting with traders and pedestrians on the importance of youth involvement, engagement and participation in national development.  

Ensuring that the potential of young people is fulfilled, reflected in the celebration of this year’s World Population Day. UNFPA Ghana will continue to put the youth first in creating spaces that harnesses their capabilities and gives them room to lead, participate and to be involved in decision making structures.