NDPC Reviews Population Integration Models to Strengthen Evidence-Based Development Planning
The Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr Audrey Smock Amoah, has called on participants at a technical assessment of selected 2026–2029 Medium-Term Development Plans (MTDPs) to actively contribute to efforts to strengthen the integration of population variables into development planning.
Speaking at the opening of the four-day technical assessment in Accra on Monday, August 24, 2026, Dr Amoah stressed the importance of ensuring that development plans go beyond preparation to achieve tangible results for the people they are intended to serve.
“It’s very good to have a good plan, but it is best to have the plan implemented and ultimately the plan having effect on the people the plan is intended to serve,” she said.
She highlighted the importance of updating the Population Integration Models to reflect Ghana’s current demographic realities, adding that population size and growth, age structure, fertility, mortality, migration and spatial distribution have significant implications for the provision of social services, infrastructure, employment opportunities and other development needs.
The Executive Director of the National Population Council (NPC) noted that the review was necessary because it had been over a decade since the integration models were last utilised. The availability of data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census, she noted, provides an opportunity to update the models and make them more relevant to current planning needs.
She emphasised that the exercise was not simply about replacing old population figures with new ones, but about ensuring that population evidence is effectively translated into development planning and decision-making at the local level.
Mr David Agyemang, a Programme Analyst, on behalf of the UNFPA representative, also welcomed the assessment, describing population dynamics as central to development planning.
He said the exercise will examine not only whether population variables were included in development plans, but whether population evidence was actually informing priorities, implementation and decision-making.
The technical assessment, being undertaken by the NDPC in collaboration with the National Population Council, brings together selected representatives from MDAs and other institutions to examine how population variables have been applied in selected areas of the 2026–2029 MTDPs.
The findings are expected to inform the review and update of the Manual on the Integration of Population Variables in Development Planning, as well as related capacity-building support for planners.
Click to read more: https://opemsuo.com/author/hajara-fuseini/
