Gov’t charts bold paths for child-centered growth

…as NDPC unveils strategic priorities for 2026-2029

The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has concluded a high-level Strategic Planning Retreat with key stakeholders and ministries to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for children.

Building on the 2025 Voluntary National Review, which highlighted Ghana’s resilient GDP growth of 5.7 percent, the NDPC convened leadership from various ministries, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies as well as its development partners, including UNICEF Ghana, to address “last mile” challenges.

The retreat focused on seven critical priority areas designed to ensure that economic growth translates into well-being for every child:

• Maternal and Neonatal Health: Accelerating mortality reduction.
• Nutrition and Sanitation: Ending stunting and open defecation.
• Foundational Learning: Boosting literacy and numeracy proficiency.
• Youth Employment and Child Labour: Reducing the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
• Adolescent Protection: Ending child marriage and adolescent pregnancy.
• Birth Registration: Achieving universal coverage through digitization.
• Social Protection: Expanding the LEAP program to cover children under five.

The Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang reiterated the widely accepted belief that children represent the cornerstone of Ghana’s future hence the need to prioritise their rights, health, education, and general well-being.

“Ghana’s future is not a distant dream; it is embodied in the lives of the children we see around us today. Their health, education, and protection are not optional, they are fundamental rights and the cornerstone of sustainable and inclusive development.

“Planning for children and young people should become front and centre of our development strategy and I believe that this retreat has helped reset our collective approach to delivering outcomes for children, “she said.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang issued a clarion call to public and private sector agencies and institutions, along with religious bodies and civil society organisations, urging them to adopt measures and policies that place children’s welfare first and ensure their holistic well-being.

She also charged the NDPC to institute measures to tract the implementation of the commitments made at the retreats.

A key outcome of the retreat was the Government’s commitment to a “Network of Practice” model. This approach integrates health, nutrition, and social protection services into a unified safety net, specifically targeting adolescent girls as a catalyst for systemic change.

As a key partner in this process, UNICEF Ghana emphasised the importance of this evidence-based planning.

“We are not just identifying problems; we are committing to solutions,” said Mr Osama Makkawi Khogali, UNICEF Representative in Ghana.

“From reducing the number of young people out of school to ending child marriage, our partnership with the Government of Ghana is focused on high-return investments that will yield benefits for generations to come,”he added.

The strategic outcomes of the retreat are set to be fully integrated into the national budgeting and policy cycle, ensuring child rights remain the cornerstone of Ghana’s journey toward 2030.

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