World Contraception Day

Today is World Contraception Day. The day is commemorated annually on 26th September to improve awareness of available contraceptive methods and empower young adults to make informed choices regarding their reproductive health.

More on population projections

We stated in our earlier post on population projections that they are conditional and based on assumptions. These assumptions form the basis of predictions of what changes will occur in the population size and structure. 

It is critical to involve multiple stakeholders and experts in the determination of these assumptions because it allows for:

•       A thorough assessment of existing trends.

•       Identification of potential changes (political, economic, health, legal etc.) that can impact population trends going forward

•       Knowledge of subgroup trends that are not yet obvious at the population level (e.g. antenatal coverage increasing in remote rural areas)          

International literacy day

Today is International Literacy Day. The day has been commemorated since 1966 to raise awareness of the benefits of literacy at the individual, national and global levels. This awareness is necessary as the UN estimates that 617 million youth worldwide do not have basic literacy skills with a quarter of the world's illiterate population living in sub-Saharan Africa. 

The theme for this year is Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. 

Almost two-third of migrant workers sampled travelled abroad without a valid work visa

The Ghana Statistical Service released findings from the 2019 recruitment cost pilot survey conducted in four districts in the Ashanti, Bono and Bono East regions that sampled households with return and current international migrants. The survey aimed to measure SDG Indicator 10.7.1 (Recruitment cost borne by employee as a proportion of monthly income earned in country of destination) under SDG 10.7 which aims to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies. SDG 10 focuses on the reduction of inequality within and among countries.

The findings reveal the concerning statistic that only a third of migrant workers travelled abroad with a work visa; the others either went legally but without a work visa or through unapproved routes. The points to a need to implement policies to provide productive and profitable means to engage the working age population to discourage them from illegally migrating abroad.