The Ghana Football Association and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have agreed to work together towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking at a meeting with the UNFPA Country Representative for Ghana, the President of the Association, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku said football is a powerful tool that should be used for the good of the society.
He indicated that it was in furtherance of that overarching goal that the GFA Foundation was launched a fortnight ago.
The President intimated that the Football Association manages League competitions and National Teams which gives it the leverage to offer such platforms for the development of the community and society at large.
The UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency with a mission to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.
Welcoming the GFA Team to his office, Dr. Wilfred Ochan said that the UN system is focusing on inclusive sports for development using sports for peace, education and growth initiatives.
He indicated that the UNFPA wants to partner the Ghana Football Association to promote advocacy on its initiatives like child marriages and the likes.
He intimated further that the UNFPA Ghana is focusing on 3 targets which are zero unmet need for family planning, zero maternal deaths and zero gender based violence and other harmful practices which are under SDGs 3 and 5 with its impact on others such as Goal 1,2 and 6.
Dr. Ochan who has been in the country for 6 months averred that Ghana has a 14.3% teenage pregnancy rate and every day trotro full of women die in Ghana as a result of reproductive health complications.
The UNFPA Country Representative later invited the President of the Football Association and some of its officials to be part of the Yole Internship and Mentorship Program.
The UNFPA’s Programme Specialist on Adolescents and Youth, Adjoa Nyanteng-Yenyi briefed the Team about some of the youth programmes they are rolling out.
The Director of the GFA Foundation, Malcolm Frazier Appeadu who was part of the GFA Team welcomed the partnership, describing it as laudable.
“One of the objects of the Foundation is to use football and its outcomes to effect behavioral and social change, which is at the centre of the UNFPA’s advocacy”, he added.
The Marketing Director of Football Association, Jamil Maraby raised the issue of funding which according to him will be key to the successful implementation of activities under the partnership.
President Simeon-Okraku on behalf of the Ghana Football Association presented a replica jersey and other gifts to the UNFPA Team and they also reciprocated the gesture with UNFPA souvenirs.
UNFPA is the world’s largest multilateral source of funding for population and reproductive health programs. The Fund works with governments and non-governmental organizations in over 150 countries with the support of the international community, supporting programs that help women, men and young people.
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