{"id":170136,"date":"2015-11-27T14:18:16","date_gmt":"2015-11-27T14:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=170136"},"modified":"2015-11-27T14:18:16","modified_gmt":"2015-11-27T14:18:16","slug":"ghanas-youth-population-to-hit-5-3-million-by-the-end-of-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/11\/ghanas-youth-population-to-hit-5-3-million-by-the-end-of-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghana\u2019s youth population to hit 5.3 million by the end of 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The number of adolescents and young adults in Ghana will hit 5.3 million by the end of this year [2015].<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This means the population of young people in the country would have increased five times since the nation attained republican status in 1960.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In terms of percentages, this translates to about 20% of the population: exactly the youth populace figure that qualifies a country to attain the dreaded \u2018youth bulge\u2019.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Yes, it is a dreaded stage because the phenomenon is believed to lead to social unrest,\u00a0war\u00a0and\u00a0terrorism.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As Gunnar Heinsohn\u00a0(2003) argues the &#8220;third and fourth sons that find no prestigious positions in their existing societies rationalize their impetus to compete by religion or political ideology&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"overflow-y: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/magic.piktochart.com\/embed\/9639489-untitled-report\" width=\"900\" height=\"700\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So as the youth population increases there is the likelihood of an upsurge in smoking, alcoholism and drug abuse, unprotected sex(prevalence of HIV\/AIDS and STI\u2019s) and armed robbery particularly among the youth, as is currently being witnessed in some Asian countries.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One can also glean from Ghana\u2019s youth population dynamics a situation where more and more young people are moving to the cities where they are mostly left with no jobs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is trite stating that housing challenges abound in Ghana\u2019s Cities and towns, with slums fast developing amidst environmental decline due to the largely unregulated disposal of household garbage, why would you think that Accra reported such huge numbers of cholera in 2014?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Recently there has been demolition of buildings in Accra and Tema which have led to several people being made homeless. This in truth is another by-product of rapid urbanization which has led many people to find shelter on any available land regardless of building policies and regulations. A practise which also contributes to the perennial flooding (The June 3<sup>rd<\/sup> Flood and fire disaster was a crude reminder) with dire consequences for human lives and property.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">All of this points to one direction that Ghana is going through a demographic transition.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Demographic Dividend<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Globally, about one quarter of the world\u2019s population is between 10 and 24 years old. It is believed that the ambitions and triumphs of these energetic people will form the future.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So as fertility rates in many parts of the world fall, a country with both increasing numbers of young people and decreasing fertility has the would-be\u00a0 advantage to reap a \u2018demographic dividend\u2019 \u2013 \u2018an improvement in economic output that take place when there are growing numbers of people in the workforce relative to the number of dependents\u2019.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So in effect, having large co-horts of youth is not always dangerous- in fact it can be positive if carefully cultured, under the right conditions. Here is how to turn a potential youth curse into a blessing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Progressive economic Revolution<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The demographic dividend is all about the progressive economic revolution that begins with changes in the age structure as a result of the movement of Ghana\u2019s population from high to low birth and death rates.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the transformation does not come automatically, there must be in place economic policies to promote growth. Efforts in the health and education sectors must be backed by supportive economic policies that create jobs for the large population of youth and harness the power of the age structure transformation. Government must immediately shift economic priorities into sectors that can absorb today\u2019s youth, such as manufacturing, service and technology.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There must also be a calculated attempt to ensure that in the workforce, women and men have equal opportunity and skills. With careful planning, more women can transition into higher paid jobs and possibly have fewer children and high quality education.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Again producing quality jobs is at the staple of the demographic dividend. However, in Ghana the general economic growth has failed to translate into decent, gainful and productive employment generation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So how do we improve the education sector to reap the demographic dividends.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Asian Tigers Perfect Example <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Development economist at the University of Ghana Dr. Charles Ackah insists the perfect example is with the -Asian tigers-Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. According to him, \u2018to position itself to take advantage of the demographic dividend South Korea changed its educational policy from compulsory primary education to \u2018production-oriented\u2019 education. This involved, he continues \u2018the focus on knowledge and skills needed for economic development\u2019. And yes it worked since \u2018it led to 97% of school aged children attending school as against 54% before the implementation of the policy\u2019. This improvement in education he stressed \u2018coincided with a drop in fertility from 5.4 children in 1950 to 2.9 in 1975\u2019.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Health <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the key issues that must be addressed for Ghana to reap the demographic dividends are child health (including neonatal care), nutrition, care of the elderly population and family planning. There is also a growing concern of non-communicable diseases that needs to be brought under control. Although these pose developmental challenges they could be turned into opportunities depending on what we put in place as policy measures. The health of the population has to be improved through greater access to potable water supply, improved sanitation, health care services and personnel, prenatal and antenatal care, nutrition and malnutrition. Rev. Dr. Yaa Adobea Owusu, head of the social division at the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER) who led the 2014 Ghana Social Development outlook pinpoints these key actions needed to turn Ghana\u2019s fortunes around; \u2018Further fertility reduction through increase in modern contraceptive usage\u00a0 and further reduction in the proportion of women marrying before age 18years\u2019. To her \u2018when all these are achieved, their corresponding effect will be reduction in maternal and infant mortality, reduction in malnutrition and enhancement in women\u2019s well-being and empowerment\u2019.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Policy Implications<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Restructuring the educational system, to equip more of its graduates with skills suited to the world of work and at the same time reviewing the structure of the economy to make it more responsive to the changing demographics of Ghana is key.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Now that the majority of the country\u2019s population is now urban this shifts the challenge of unemployment and poverty from the rural to the urban areas. There is therefore the need for the change of emphasis on spatial development from the rural to urban areas in order to address the challenge. However, a balance needs to struck between rural and urban areas in order to ensure that development is brought to the majority of the population. Wherever they may be located without denying the minority in the rural areas-as in now increasingly the case- their fair share of development interventions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Finally the issues raised call for increased high level commitment to the implementation of policies adopted regarding population and development programme implementation. Institutions and agencies of state established to ensure the attainment of the demographic transition within the shortest possible time should be supported to deliver that mandate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Conlcusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ghana\u2019s youth is expected to be energetic force behind economic wealth in future decades, but only if policies and programs are in place to enhance their opportunities and encourage smaller families. A cycle of positive outcomes can result from having a larger, better- educated workforce with fewer children to support\u2014 children who will in turn be more educated and employable, provided that institutions are strengthened and viable economic policies are in place. Let\u2019s \u2018Carpe Diem\u2019, for posterity will not forgive us if we fail to turn the potential ills of the \u2018Youth Bulge\u2019 into dividends!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8211;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Raymond Acquah\/ Citifmonline.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The number of adolescents and young adults in Ghana will hit 5.3 million by the end of this year [2015]. This means the population of young people in the country would have increased five times since the nation attained republican status in 1960. In terms of percentages, this translates to about 20% of the population: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":170142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[38,4],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ghana\u2019s youth population to hit 5.3 million by the end of 2015 - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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