The country’s digital transformation agenda is expected to receive a major boost with the harmonisation of data available to some four state institutions by the close of the year, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said.
Linking data of the four institutions – comprising the Ghana Health Service (GHS), National Identification Authority (NIA), Ghana Statistical Services (GSS) and Ghana Police Service – will enable the state to have timely estimates of the population.
To this end, the GSS is expected to release 13,000 tablets – used for its data-capturing exercise – to GHS. The tablets will help in data monitoring of pregnant mothers from antenatal clinics until they deliver.
The Births and Deaths Registry will then be in a position to receive up-to-date data on births while also enabling the NIA to immediately issue national identification numbers for new-born babies.
It is given this that he observed realisation of the project will help to put in place a comprehensive national database to help in policy formulation and planning, among others.
The Vice President said this at the 50th-anniversary celebration of the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS) at the University of Ghana, and acknowledged the impact of RIPS on the country’s development.
He recognised that the establishment of RIPS – on the back Africa’s current population dynamic – will help in “promoting responsible and healthy discussions of population issues which bring dignity to development,” among others.
Training and research institutions on population, according to Dr. Bawumia, have become major partners for development across the public and private sectors globally.
“At the national level, the role of RIPS in contributing to implementation of the National Population and Housing Census has been immense. In addition, the contribution of scientists, at RIPS, to development of major national policies are noteworthy,” he stated.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo – also addressing the gathering at the 50th-anniversary celebration launching of RIPS, said the Institute was established with the mandate to train population-scientists.
Per its mandate, she observed, over 1,500 students across the African continent have benefitted from the training provided by RIPS over the years.
RIPS, among its numerous works, also conducts cutting-edge research as well as provides technical assistance to several local and international organisations, she said.
The former Government Statistician, Dr. Grace Bediako – an alumna of RIPS who chaired the ceremony, also acknowledged the progress made by the Institute despite all the challenges encountered over the period.
The 50th anniversary celebration of RIPS is being celebrated under the theme ‘50 years of shaping local and global population issues toward sustainable development’.
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