01-12-2011
Narration: The population of the Upper East Region is said to explode if conscious efforts are not made to control its continuous increase. The 2010 population census puts the current population of the region to 1,031,478 as compared to the 2000 census figure of 920,089,an increase of about 12.1 percent. This was disclosed by the Upper East Regional Population Officer, Mr Alosiba Azam, at the 4th Quarter Meeting of the Regional Population Advisory Committee (RPAC) held in Bolgatanga. He said despite intense public education on birth control, people are still adamant and are producing more children than they can take care though majority of them lives in abject poverty and depend on others for their survival. Here is a report by Isaac Asare.
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Mr Azam attributed the increase in the region’s population to a number of factors including the non- cooperative attitude to family planning, particularly among men, inadequate funding for family planning activities, youth involvement in unprotected sex, and teenage pregnancy among others. Other challenges such inadequate and irregular funding for population programmes has rendered almost all the District Population Advisory Committees (DPACs) dormant and non-functional. This is because some assemblies took off budget lines created for population programmes including meetings of their district committees while the existing budget lines faced difficulties in getting such assemblies to release funds from the budget lines. Mr Azam however appealed to the various assemblies to consider providing the needed funding to support population activities. He thanked the media, the Regional Coordinating Council and the RPAC for their invaluable support during the period under review and hoped that such partnership will exist in the years ahead. The Deputy Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, Dr James Akpablie denounced the growing misconceptions and superstitions attached to the issue of family planning, which he noted even exist among some health workers. Such problems bordering on family planning are sometimes compounded by educated elites who feel they might not conceive because of frequent in take of family planning products. Some men also do not see the need to patronize family planning products with the view that women were created to produce. forgetting the socio-economic impact on the society and the economy. He said some men even go to the extent of beating their wives for accessing family planning services at the health facilities. Dr Akpablie said the issue of family planning needs to be taken seriously, hence the need for people to regulate the number of children produced. He also challenged the population council to amass enough financial and managerial resources to build a strong advocacy for family planning activities. This, he explained would help conscientize people particularly rural folks on the need to bring forth children they can take care of. Dr Akpablie seize the opportunity to advice the public to refrain from unprotected sex to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS which he lamented has gained its roots in the region recording high prevalence rate in areas like Navrongo and Bolgatanga. He also cautioned the public on the incident of malaria and announced plans by his outfit to embark on an indoor residual spraying exercise as a measure to reduce its infection. In achieving this, about 500,000 insecticide treated bednets would be distributed throughout the region in the later part of January and February next year. Dr Akpablie disclosed that the exercise would among other benefits create employment opportunity for most youth in the region and appealed to the various assemblies and institutions to support the proposed move since its logistical implications are highly demanding. The public were moreover reminded of the CSM and the yellow fever disease as it has claimed one life in the Kassena-Nankana West District. Mr Philip Yinbil who chaired the function called for the reactivation of the various district population advisory committees, and urged the assemblies to get those committees working.
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