
Dr. Leticia Adelaide Appiah, NPC Executive Director

The United Nations (UN) adopted October 11 to celebrate the girl child with the aim of raising awareness about gender inequality, child marriage, education deprivation, and other challenges faced by girls, especially in developing countries.
This day was initiated to recognize that removing barriers, many of which are man-made, such as child marriage, lack of access to sanitary pads, lack of reproductive health services and education deprivation, accelerates the empowerment of girls, benefiting not only them but also men, women, children, and nations at large.
Girls are precious souls who bring happiness to our lives, yet many are unable to reach their full potential due to negative practices stemming from poor policies, toxic cultural norms, or religious beliefs that hinder their healthy growth, education, and self-sufficiency despite significant global development that recognizes contribution of skilled and educated girls to their societies.
The theme for this year’s celebration, “Digital Generation, Our Generation,” is a call to embrace technology, especially in this post-COVID era. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the importance of technology for education, health, communication, business, security, and entertainment.
Opportunity
For instance, many privileged school children, teachers, students, and employees had the opportunity to continue their education and work virtually during the pandemic, resulting in minimal disruptions. However, children in deprived areas and many women in the informal sector lacked access to necessary knowledge, skills, and digital resources, which further exacerbated inequalities.
Bridging the technology gap in a digital generation could be at risk if access to reproductive health information and services remains unequal, with profound ripple effects on society. In a world that has become a global village, we must embrace technology and other important public goods to stay relevant and not be left behind.
To ensure that no one is left behind in various sectors, including technology, we must focus on effective population management today. This includes reducing teen pregnancies, addressing unmet family planning needs, reducing child marriages, and promoting optimal birth spacing.
Effective population management is essential for individual and community well-being. It hinges on innovations in health as public goods which all should take advantage of because ignoring effective population management and bearing the consequences thereof is needless, sad and inefficient. It is not about curtailing individual freedoms but advocating for health, peace, inclusion, sustainable development, and achieving the Africa we desire.
Supporting women’s empowerment, including removing barriers to their reproductive health, will enable them to access quality education and realize their full potential for everyone’s benefit.
Empowerment
Women’s empowerment, including access to reproductive health and quality education, is at the core of political, economic, security, and equity issues. Achieving equity for women is key to addressing other challenges in developing countries.
It is well documented that countries that suppress women and girls face greater economic challenges because an uneducated or poorly educated workforce results in suboptimal productivity. A system built on the suppression of half its members may survive but cannot thrive.
To raise happy children who can thrive in the digital generation, leadership at all levels must protect girls from poor policies and harmful cultural and religious practices. We must focus on the well-being of everyone, ensuring that our choices lead to positive impacts equitably. When reckoning comes, though we all suffer, those who suffer most are those who had no power to change.
Men have the power and resources to create an equal and equitable world where everyone, boy or girl, woman or man become part of each other and contributing to sustainable development and prosperity. Men also have the power to perpetuate the disempowerment of girls and women, resulting in the reproduction of restless children in an unsustainable fashion that harm all.
The consequences of our actions today will shape our future. Let us have the courage to act positively on behalf of others, make evidence based informed choices, and reject ignorance and practices that divide and undermine sustainability. Happy International Girl Child Day to all girls: “Digital Generation is Our Generation,” so let’s resolve to choose right.
The writer is Executive Director of the National Population Council (NPC).