A delegation from the National Population Council (NPC), led by the Acting Executive Director, Mrs. Angelina Osei Kodua-Nyanor, paid a courtesy call on the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on Friday, September 5, 2025. The visit aimed to strengthen collaboration between the two institutions on matters of population and development.
In her welcome remarks, Dr. Audrey Smock Amoah, the Acting Director-General of NDPC, highlighted the constitutional mandate of the Commission while underscoring the link between population and development. She described it as a “chicken-and-egg” situation, where human development drives economic growth, and economic progress, in turn, supports population well-being.
She pledged to facilitate NPC’s inclusion in Regional Planning Coordinating Units and to advocate with the Ministry of Local Government and the Head of the Local Government Service for logistical support at the newly created 6 regions.
Mrs. Kodua-Nyanor reaffirmed NPC’s commitment to working hand in hand with NDPC, noting that the two bodies “are in the same soup” when it comes to development planning. She called for closer collaboration in integrating population issues such as mortality, migration, and mobility into district and national plans. She also requested NDPC’s support to ensure NPC’s participation in technical committees and to assist the Council in securing office space in the newly created regions where it is not yet represented.
Ms. Laila-Karen Amponsah, a Principal Planning Analyst at NDPC, highlighted ongoing joint initiatives between the two institutions, citing their collaboration on the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development (AADPD), and reporting processes to the United Nations.
She noted that NDPC has actively partnered with NPC in technical working groups, particularly on the Youth Development Index and demographic dividend initiatives, and preparing evaluation reports.
With support from UNFPA, the two institutions will soon begin a joint audit to assess how well population variables are integrated into district and sectoral development plans, with the aim of updating existing planning tools and ensuring no community is left behind.
Other officials from NPC stressed the need for continuous training of planners to ensure population variables are effectively mainstreamed into development plans.
In response, Dr. Amoah recalled a training program organised by KNUST in the early 2000s, which provided planners with practical tools and guidelines for people-centred development. She emphasised the value of such initiatives and agreed on the need to revive similar programs to strengthen the capacity of planners nationwide.