By Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey
Accra, Dec. 24, GNA – The National Population Council (NPC) has called for stronger coordination and sustained financing to ensure effective implementation of Ghana’s Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) Policy.
Mrs Angelina Osei Kodua-Nyanor, Acting Executive Director of the NPC, made the call at a high-level multi-stakeholder meeting in Accra to review population and ASRH policies and their implementation progress.
She said while Ghana had made commendable progress in developing policies, strategic plans and frameworks, the real challenge remained effective implementation at national and decentralised levels.
“Ghana is good at policy development, but implementation is what determines success or failure, the real benefits of our development agenda depend on how policies are implemented on the ground,” she said.
The meeting, convened by the NPC and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), aimed to enhance collaboration, reduce duplication of efforts and develop a unified advocacy agenda for improved adolescent sexual and reproductive health outcomes.
It brought together development partners, civil and non-governmental organisations to discuss how population and demographic issues were mainstreamed into national and sectoral development planning and investment decisions.
The meeting also served to review existing policies, programmes and interventions, identify implementation bottlenecks, and explore ways to align efforts to maximise impact.
Mrs Kodua-Nyanor emphasised the need for youth-focused stakeholders to align their programmes with national priorities and report interventions to the NPC to avoid duplication and fragmentation.
“We need to be sure that the little resources we have are used judiciously, equitably and transparently across regions, the government’s commitment would be strengthened where there is a clear, unified advocacy agenda supported by strong evidence,” she said.
Mrs. Kodua-Nyanor noted that while progress had been made in policy formulation and programme rollout, adolescent pregnancy and new HIV infections among young people remained high, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
“Statistics indicated that about 15 per cent of girls aged 15–19 had ever been pregnant, with higher concentrations in deprived communities,” she said.
Ms Adjoa Yenyi, Programme Specialist Adolescent and Youth Development at UNFPA, reiterated the fund’s commitment to supporting Ghana through policy and technical assistance to ensure universal access to comprehensive, youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services.
Dr Angela El-Adas, Board Chair of the NPC, said adolescent sexual and reproductive health was not only a health concern but a critical population and development issue affecting education, labour force participation, maternal health, population growth and national productivity.
She said the NPC recognised persistent gaps between policy intent and outcomes.
“Fragmentation of efforts, uneven implementation across regions, limited financing and persistent socio-cultural barriers continue to undermine the impact of otherwise well-designed policies,” she said.
Dr El-Adas noted that, given its cross-cutting nature, ASRH could not be addressed by a single institution, as it spanned health, education, gender, local government, social protection and youth development sectors.
“The ASRH Policy, developed by the NPC, provides a comprehensive framework to guide interventions that promote the health, wellbeing and empowerment of adolescents, but its effective implementation required strong coordination among stakeholders across sectors,” she said.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey