Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has praised the Group of Earth Observations (GEO) for their services in providing important data that continues to guide policy development, program design, and implementation in Ghana.
Delivering a speech at the 18th Plenary of the Group of Earth Observations Week, the Vice President stated that such data has grown to be more useful for making decisions and that the government’s targeted programs, like campaigns to eradicate poverty and illegal mining, are partially based on the data.
He further explained that products from Digital Earth Africa are being used in Ghana to track how illegal mining activities are changing the landscape and how significant and influential it is to create an interoperable system that combines Earth observation data with other data, such as socioeconomic data, citizen data, and statistical data, among others.
“Our development priorities are focused on economic transformation through value addition to create jobs, reduce poverty, and enhance social inclusion while sustaining the integrity of our environment.”
“Our medium- and long-term development plans are underpinned by the Ghana Beyond Aid vision to change the mindsets of our citizens towards an increased reliance on internal resources plus private sector investment to lead economic transformation,” he added.
Dr. Bawumia revealed that the government is finalizing a new digital economy policy and a digital transformation blueprint that would make Ghana the sub-Saharan African leader in ICT innovation.
“The ongoing Ghana Digital Acceleration Project is expected to increase access to mobile internet and broadband services by encouraging private sector investment in last-mile connectivity in underserved and rural areas, with particular attention to women, persons with disabilities, and the youth,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, he highlighted that even though there have been great improvements in reducing poverty through increased access to education, employment, higher agricultural production, and rapid urbanization, the government will continue to use data tools and systems to address the necessary challenges that still remain and urged increased cooperation in their effort to save the environment.
He noted that the meeting held on November 2, 2022, in Accra marked the peak of global collaboration for increasing the use of Earth observations as evidence for local effects in Africa and around the world.
The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) is an intergovernmental organization trying to increase the accessibility, use, and availability of Earth observations for societal benefit.
GEO actively seeks to enhance and coordinate international electro-optical (EO) systems as well as encourage extensive, open data sharing.
