
A three day conference of the Asian and African Parliamentarians Project opened in Accra today.
It is on the theme: Parliamentarians as the 4th pillar for achieving
the 2030 agenda: population, food security and sexual reproductive
health.
In his opening remarks the First
Deputy Speaker of Parliament Hon Joseph Osei Owusu called on the
participants to pay serious attention to female empowerment to help
realise targets set for agenda 2030 of the UN Sustainable Development
Goals, as women and girls constitute more than 50% of the population of
most developing countries .
Hon Joseph Osei Owusu also expressed concern about the high rate of youth unemployment in Africa.
“With the relatively large youthful population, Africa stands the potential to enjoy a rapid economic growth if its human resource is effectively harnessed,” the First Deputy Speaker said.
He urged the participants to continue the transformation of
Parliaments of their countries and ensure that the transformation
remains relevant in the midst of the challenges facing the various
countries.
A Member of Parliament from Japan Hon Yukio Ubukata said achieving
agenda 2030 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is a huge challenge
that requires strong political will.
According to him MPs must be vehicles for conveying views of the
people to government as well as the international community to be
addressed to promote their wellbeing.
Hon Dr Abdul Rashid Hassan Pelpuo MP for Wa West and Chairman of the
Parliamentary caucus on Population and Development hoped participants of
the conference will come out with views to influence policies of their
governments on population, food security and sexual reproductive health .
Mr Niyi Ojuolape, Country Representative of UNFPA Ghana said the UN
Sustainable Development Goals can’t be achieved without the empowerment
of women.
He emphasised the need for Africa to invest more in the youth to
position them towards making meaningful contribution to the economic
development of the continent.
Mr Ojuolape also stressed the need for comprehensive sexual education
for young girls to help them avoid teenage pregnancy and pursue their
education to the highest level to widen their opportunities in life.
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