Reproductive health specialist Dr Godfred Bonnah Nkansah has warned that Ghana’s fertility rate remains too high to support the country’s transition to a high-income economy, citing growing pressure on schools, hospitals and road infrastructure.
Speaking at a media training session on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), he said Ghana’s fertility rate stood at 3.9 children per woman, according to the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey.
He explained that countries seeking to move from low-income to high-income status generally performed better when fertility rates fell between 2.1 and 2.8 children per woman, allowing families to invest more resources in each child.
Dr. Nkansah called for stronger reproductive health education and services for both men and women to help address the situation.
He said the country’s growing population was placing increasing demands on public infrastructure, with overcrowded schools affecting education delivery and hospitals struggling to accommodate patients.
He also warned that roads and other essential services could face further pressure if population growth continued without corresponding improvements in infrastructure and public investment.
According to him, the issue is not about imposing a fixed number of children on families but encouraging parents to have children they can adequately support.
The training was organised by the Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights to promote accurate, ethical and evidence-based reporting on reproductive health issues.
