Deputy Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA), Prof Vida Nyagre Yakong, has challenged young people in Northern Ghana to stop waiting for jobs and start developing solutions to the problems confronting their communities.
She said the region was not short of problems but lacked enough young people willing and equipped to turn those problems into opportunities for innovation and enterprise.
“Northern Ghana does not have a shortage of problems. We have a shortage of problem-solvers,” Prof Yakong said.
She was delivering the keynote address at the Tamale Youth Summit held at the GNAT Hall in Tamale on Saturday, September 5, 2026.
Speaking on innovation, Prof Yakong said innovation was not limited to coding or sophisticated technology but involved finding practical ways of doing things differently with available resources.
She challenged the youth to use technology and their knowledge to develop solutions to local challenges.
“Do not wait for opportunity to come from Accra. Create opportunity here in Tamale,” she said.
Prof Yakong cited possible solutions young people could develop, including digital platforms to help farmers in Savelugu access market prices and health education content produced in Dagbani and disseminated through social media.
She said the widespread availability of smartphones, internet access and an energetic youth population provided a foundation for young people to create locally relevant solutions.
The HeFRA official also urged young people to view leadership as service rather than status, saying leadership should be measured by the people and communities one serves.
“If you want to lead tomorrow, start serving your community today,” she said.
Prof Yakong, a former Foundation Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University for Development Studies (UDS), drew on her own journey from a rural community in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region to becoming a nurse educator, medical anthropologist, public health researcher, professor and national regulator.
She said her experience demonstrated that one’s background should not determine one’s future.
“Your background is not your prison. It is your platform,” she told the young participants.
The summit, organised by the Dream Big Foundation, brought together about 2,000 young leaders from Northern Ghana under the theme “Breaking Limits: Empowering Youth for Leadership, Innovation and Impact.”
Prof Yakong urged participants to combine education, resilience, integrity, service and authenticity with a commitment to solving problems in their communities.
She said sustainable development would require young people to move beyond seeking opportunities for themselves and become creators of opportunities for others.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
