UPPER EAST POPULATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE HOLDS MEETING (PAGE 23, FEB 13, 2010)

THE Deputy Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr James Akpabli, has called on Municipal and District Chief Executives to be more concerned about the rate of population growth of the region rather than overconcentrating on the provision of physical infrastructure.
Dr Akpablie raised the concerns at the first quarterly meeting of the Upper East Regional Population Advisory Committee in Bolgatanga.
He stated that although provision of infrastructure constituted one of the most important factors determining the development of a district, “we need to get the M/DCEs to understand and appreciate the issue of population.
Dr Akpablie implored them not to focus on the provision of infrastructure but must understand the problem that could arise as a result of population explosion.
He stated that available figures indicated that family planning was a big challenge in the region with most men ignorant of their involvement in family planning.
Dr Akpablie said the time had come for district assemblies to work closely with institutions tasked with that responsibility to step up family planning activities in the region.
The Regional Population Officer, Mr Sylvester Alosibah Azam, said during the year under review, his office through the Municipal and the District Population Advisory Committees, had encouraged the various municipal and district assemblies in the region to appreciate the need for integrating population issues into their development plans.
He, however, said one major challenge was the difficulty in getting assemblies to release funds from budget lines created for population advisory committees.
Mr Azam, therefore, urged the assemblies to ensure that funds were released for population activities.