The National Coordinator of the Ghana National Households Registry (GNHR) has appealed to residents in the Upper East Region to register in the ongoing data collection exercise.

Dr Prosper Laari said his outfit will in the next coming days intensify the registration of households with few days to the deadline.

He said the exercise is crucial for the socio-economic advancement of the country, as it seeks to establish a single national household register with which social protection programmes will select their beneficiaries.

The exercise was launched in the Upper East Region by the Gender Minister in February. So far, it is estimated that over 85 percent of the households are registered with one more week to end the exercise.

According to Dr Laari, it was important for all households in the region to be a part of the registration exercise to ensure an accurate database.

The GNHR National Coordinator expressed appreciation to the Chiefs and people and all key stakeholders of the Upper East Region for embracing the data collection exercise.

He, however, said there are a few households that yet to be enumerated, as they reportedly leave their homes very early for work or farm and return very late in the evening.

Dr. Prosper Laari

He maintained that the GNHR field officers are nonetheless up to the task to reach out to those not yet registered before the close of the exercise.

Dr. Prosper Laari believes the exercise will not only be successful but will also cover a higher percentage of households in the region. He thus appealed to the remaining households to avail themselves for registration.

The Communications Specialist of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Madam Gabriella Ampem-Darko said that the GNHR had intensified its Public Information Campaign, especially in the last few weeks across the region in a bid to encourage all households to register.

She soothed the false impression being held by some well-to-do households that the data collection was targeted only at the poor households and urged them to register.

Madam Gabriella maintained that every household or individual was eligible to register in the exercise whether rich or poor, young or old.

She, therefore, called on the media and other stakeholders to support the GNHR for a more successful exercise in the region.

From the Upper East Region, the GNHR data collection exercise will move to the remaining eight regions of Ghana. The exercise is being supported by the World Bank and the Government of Ghana.