2010 Population census is everybody�s business

Ensuring the success of the 2010 Population and Housing Census was a responsibility of which no Ghanaian could afford pass on because its outcomes would affect every segment of the society in special ways. This was the consensus at a three-day capacity building workshop for selected Reporters and Stringers of the Ghana News Agency on the impending census in Ho. The workshop was organized by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and the Media and Communications Advocacy Network (MCAN) which is a group of media practitioners with interest in population and development issues. Participants observed that the census would aid government in the planning and deployment of resources for development. It would also serve as a guide to those seeking political office to determine how to package messages and who at where to target. They said the census would also have implications for improving decentralization. Chiefs would also need census data to know the population of their traditional areas. Mr Francis Yankey, Member of the Implementation Committee of the National Population and Housing Census (PHC), explained that the exercise was not only a count of people but would also take stock of houses and community facilities, such as schools and health institutions. That, he said, should make the results, the most sought after document for all development agencies.