By Nana Ama Omari
In a bid to control population growth in Niger, a team from Niger’s Population Department is on a one-week tour to study Ghana’s population dynamics. Welcoming the team to the National Population Council (NPC), Executive Director Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah applauded Niger for realising the need to control its population.
Commenting on Ghana’s population growth, Dr. Appiah indicated that though Ghana is faring better than Niger when it comes to population issues, there is still a need for more attention in the sector. She believes a lack of attention to population issues is hampering Ghana’s socio-economic development, adding that ”there is a lot both Niger and Ghana can learn from each other”.
Dr. Appiah therefore stressed the need for government investment in reproductive health and services, effective monitoring, advocacy, and coordination to control population growth and attain a healthy, educated, and skilled citizenry.
Director General, Office of Niger Population, Abarchi Habibou, noted that resistance is the main obstacle to controlling population growth in Niger.
According to him, family planning is seen as taboo in some parts of Niger; therefore, the office in charge of population is repositioning family planning through increased male involvement to improve population health and accelerate economic growth.
He lauded Ghana for being one of the best-performing Countries when it comes to population issues in Africa.