The newly-appointed country representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Ghana, Mr. Babatunde Ahonsi, on Monday August 11, 2014 presented his letter of credence to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Hannah Tetteh at her office in Accra.
Addressing the Foreign Minister, Mr. Ahonsi expressed gratitude to the government for facilitating his clearance which has enabled him to begin work in Ghana, adding that he would employ his vast wealth of expertise in his new capacity as Head of UNFPA-Ghana to advance maternal health, gender equality, population and development, as well as adolescent sexual and reproductive health in the country.
According to him, the UNFPA remained very committed to district level development in the country and has therefore taken a bold step to work in tandem with the decentralised development administration policy of the government of Ghana.
He further explained that since 2013, UNFPA has been using a decentralized system which ensures that 70% of its programme support budget is disbursed directly to the district assemblies.
Hon. Hanna Tetteh, in response, commended the UNFPA for its resolve to work at the community level and also urged the Ahonsi-led administration of UNFPA-Ghana to partner with Ministry Of Health (MOH) and the Ghana Health Service in addressing issues of poor and inaccessible health facilities at the district level by ensuring that local community structures and resources are fully engaged in maternal health care delivery.
Prior to his appointment to Ghana, Mr. Babatunde Ahonsi was the Country Director of the Population Council in Nigeria.
He has worked with the Ford Foundation in West Africa and lectured at the Universities of Ilorin, Calabar as well as Lagos, where he taught various courses in Sociology and Demography. He has expertise in reproductive health and human development focusing on gender and youth-related policy and programming issues.
Mr. Ahonsi has also been actively involved in technical assistance to several NGOs across West Africa working on gender equity and sexual and reproductive health and also served on the Gender and Rights Advisory Panel of the Department of Reproductive Health & Research, WHO, Geneva; and the Board of the United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health, Kuala Lumpur.
Diplomatic Call wishes Mr. Babatunde Ahonsi the very best in his new capacity.
By: Prince Asare, Diplomatic Call
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