Professor Bawah Ayaga, Director, Regional Institute for Population Studies, University of Ghana, has called for investment in youth skills and employment to harness the energy, creativity, and innovation for sustained national development. Prof Ayaga said the country could not afford to waste the nation's youthfulness because they played a key role in the transformation and growth of the country. The Professor made the call in Accra at a presentation on World Population Prospects and Implications for Ghana. The event is to mark this year's World Population Day on the theme 'The Power of 12 Million: Youth as Key Drivers Towards a Resilient and Equitable Future for Ghana'. The programme was organised by the National Population Council (NPC) in collaboration with the Regional Institute for Population Studies of the University of Ghana and the United Nations Fund Population Activities. Touching on some key highlights of the population report, Prof Ayaga said the world population was likely to peak within the current century. Also, the report reveals that one in four people globally lived in a country whose population had already peaked in size. The report shows that by 2080, persons aged 65 or older would outnumber children under 18, which had implications for development. For some populations, the report states that immigration would be the main driver of future growth. Prof Ayaga said the report was a wake-up call for Ghana to develop comprehensive policies to address the needs of the youth to avoid serious repercussions on the nation's growth. Statistics from the Ghana Statistical Service on the 2021 Population Census revealed that the youth constituted over 12 million of the population. Report from the 2023 Annual Housing Income and Expenditure Survey Quartey three estimated that 1.9 million youth were not in education, employment, or training. The survey also estimated that 3.1 million employed youth were in vulnerable employment, of which females and youth in rural areas have higher rates of vulnerab le employment. Those figures, the Professor said, should stimulate duty bearers to put in place interventions to address youth unemployment, which posed security threats to the country. That, he explained, was important because the youth constituted the greatest human resource and product for national development. Mrs Florence Hagan, Acting Executive Director, NPC, said Africans had the youngest population in the world, an opportunity for the continent to empower the youth to achieve their full potential. ' To unlock their potential, we must address the challenges they faced, including unemployment and limited access to opportunities, among others,' she said. She asked stakeholders to utilise the country's demographic dividends for sustainable development. Research projects that Ghana's population will increase to over 33 million by the end of 2024, 37 million in 2030, and 52 million in 2050.  Dr Rashid Pelpuo, Chairman of the Population and Development Caucus in Parliament, underscored the role of the youth in national development and called on authorities to create the needed avenues for them to thrive. He charged the youth to define their future now, grow without fear, take advantage of opportunities, and make Ghana a better place. Dr Wilfred Ochan, UNFPA Country Representative, called for investment in youth education and leadership because they were the bedrock of the country's socio-economic development. The youth, as part of their call to action, urged the government and stakeholders to institute policies towards their inclusivity in decision-making. They urged stakeholders to heed their collective voice to leverage the demographic dividends to drive national development. The World Population Day is celebrated on July 11 to stimulate dialogue on population issues for informed decision-making. Source: Ghana News Agency