The Acting Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry, Mr. Samuel Adom Botchway, has called on the Government to prioritize legal reforms and resource allocation to strengthen the institution’s capacity to collect accurate population data crucial for national planning.
During a working visit by the Minister of State in charge of Public Sector Reforms, Madam Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba, Mr. Botchway emphasised the Registry’s untapped potential to serve as Ghana’s primary population data source—potentially eliminating the need for expensive population censuses conducted every decade.
“If adequately resourced and supported by legislative amendments, our registry can be the backbone of Ghana’s demographic planning,” he stated.
He cited the success of the World Bank–funded Public Sector Reform for Results Project (PSRRP), which significantly boosted birth registration rates. The project set a target of 500,000 births by the end of 2023, but the Registry exceeded expectations, recording 731,706 births.
However, Mr. Botchway admitted that death registration lags behind, with only 91,000 deaths recorded against a target of 240,000. He attributed this shortfall to the limitations of Act 1027 of 2020, which requires either a medical or coroner’s report to validate a death—unrealistic for many rural communities.
“In remote villages, when elderly persons pass away at home, families cannot provide medical certification,” he explained. “We’re proposing that respected community leaders be empowered under the law to confirm such deaths. That would significantly improve our death registration coverage.”
Mr. Emmanuel Nortey Botchway, Head of Projects, echoed the need for capacity building, especially for staff stationed in underserved regions. He noted that equipping these officers with the right skills and tools would directly improve the Registry’s performance nationwide.
In response, Minister Lamisi Akanvariba commended the Registry’s progress and pledged support for legislative reforms to address the challenges, particularly regarding deaths registration. She stressed the importance of maintaining a reliable and continuous population record.
“If we accurately register births and deaths, Ghana can avoid spending vast sums on population censuses. It’s a simple equation of additions and subtractions,” she said.
The Minister assured the Registry of her commitment to advocating for the required policy adjustments and resources to modernize its operations and help Ghana build a more efficient and cost-effective national data system.
