Executive Director of the National Population Council (NPC), Dr Leticia Adelaide Appiah, has called for immediate governmental and global interventions to address the imbalance in Ghana’s health system and to ensure equitable development of all including women and girls.

Speaking at the pre-launch of the 2020 World Population Day Celebration on the theme: “Putting the brake on COVID-19: how to safeguard the health and rights of women and girls now”, Dr Appiah noted that “In this wave of COVID-19 pandemic, population issues are also influencing the outcome of our livelihoods and thus should no longer be ignored. COVID-19 has indeed exposed the lack of equity and fairness in our societies and widening the inequality gap.

“The pandemic has presented the world a chance to address the imbalance to build strong and resilient health system and equitable development of all including women and girls. Healthy and empowered women can bring about the change needed to create a sustainable future for all”.

She added that globally, the pandemic is threatening to derail many efforts including efforts to achieve zero maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning and zero sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices targets, which are necessary in meeting the SDG goals and Ghana beyond aid agenda.

Dr Appiah explained that “as a nation, the NPC and its partners are committed to safeguarding the hard-fought gains and ensuring that sexual reproductive health rights and services stay on the local agenda to enlist societal and political wills in maintaining the momentum towards achieving the SDGs by 2030 and develop Ghana beyond Aid” while stressing the need of the media to create and maintain awareness on sexual and reproductive health needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls during the pandemic and beyond.

The National Population Council also stated that it will in the coming days roll out a number of activities to educate the Ghanaian public on the need for family planning in order to promote sustainable development