Ghana's First lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills has identified the symbolic 7 billionth Baby in Ghana. She noted that children are always a great source of joy to parents and the community, but having too many especially at both very young and old ages can have negative consequences for the mother and the nation in the long-term.

She indicated that Ghana’s population is still youthful with close to 40% of the population under 15 years of age and maternal mortality ration of 350 per 100, 000 live births.

“As we out-door the 7 billionth baby born today in Ghana, we should be concerned about what the future holds for this baby in the next couple of years,” she added.

Mrs Mills noted that a baby born today into a world of 7 billion and in a county of about 25 million people, has a world full of opportunities and challenges, associated with poverty, rapid urbanisation coupled with slum growth, poor housing conditions and poor sanitation.

She emphasised that the decisions we make today as people will continue to shape the future and the world.

The First Lady called on government, civil society, development partners and individuals to deal with issues of population management so as to ensure a better legacy for the children in the country.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr Bernard Coquelin, reminded the gathering that five years ago UNFPA launched a report on the state of the world’s population titled, “People and Possibilities in a World of 7 Billion”.

According to the report, although there has been progress, not everyone has benefited from it, as there are still great disparities between and within countries; rights and opportunities between men and women.

The Vice Chairperson of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr Edith Tetteh said Ghana was amongst the first countries in the Sub Saharan Africa to develop a population policy in 1969, titled, “Population Planning for National Prosperity”.

She noted that over the years the government of Ghana has pursued with varying degrees of success, programmes aimed at accelerating economic growth and raising the living standards of people, adding that “the full impact of this growth on poverty reduction is yet to be fully realised”.

She said the NDPC is trying to design a long-term national development strategy to overcome the challenges and maximize opportunities presented by the world of more than seven billion persons.

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